12/5/2017 2015 San Bernardino Shooting Remembrance – Coyote Chronicle

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2015 San Bernardino ShootingRemembranceDECEMBER 4, 2017 BY ANDREA ENGELHORN

Michael Glen rang the bell outside of the Chemical Sciences building in the Peace Garden.

The bell is to be rang once a year on Dec. 2 in honor of the anniversary of the 2015 mass

shooting in San Bernardino.

Former CSUSB student, Syed Rizwan Farook, shot asnd killed 14 people and severely injured

22 others. An attempted bombing at the Inland Regional Center was also on the agenda of the

2010 CSUSB Alumni.

The CSUSB community was greatly impacted by this tragic event. The gunman had gone to

this school, and ve victims were associated with the CSUSB family.

“Everybody thinks it’s not going to happen to them,” said Reyes. “And it was such a random day,

a random time, you would never think it would happen so close to home,” said Michaela

Reyes, a student that was in class during the shooting in 2015.

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Bill Van Dyke, a CSUSB Life Sciences professor, gave a heartwarming speech at the memorial

to honor the ve victims from CSUSB, whose names are engraved on the ve sides of the

bell’s base.

Victims’ loved one’s, including several young children, were handed bundles of owers to

place on the bell memorial.

To conclude the ceremony, Glen rang the bell for the last time until next year’s remembrance.

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12/5/2017 Remembering the fallen and protecting ourselves - Opinion - VVdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

http://www.vvdailypress.com/opinion/20171204/remembering-fallen-and-protecting-ourselves 1/2

By The Daily Press Editorial BoardPosted Dec 4, 2017 at 9:31 AMUpdated Dec 4, 2017 at 9:31 AM

Saturday marked the second anniversary of the terrorist attack at the InlandRegional Center in San Bernardino, where 14 people died in 2015 when ahomegrown Islamic terrorist and his wife attacked a holiday party of countyemployees.

On Thursday, San Bernardino County Supervisor Robert Lovingood called onall county residents to take part Saturday in a moment of silence in remembranceof the fallen, and we hope you heeded Lovingood’s call and did so.

Nothing can erase the horror of that day for those who were in attendance andthere is little anyone can say to help those who lost loved ones feel better.

One of the chief aims of terrorists is to rob victims of their peace of mind,assuming they cannot take their lives. These two terrorists did both andreminded us all that Islamic extremists would like nothing better than to wipeevery single American off the map.

Two years since that dreadful day, the United States remains the chief target ofIslamic extremists and it doesn’t look like anything will change that in the nearfuture. Fortunately, attacks on American soil are not everyday occurrences andattacks here have been far more sporadic than they have been in Europe.

But we cannot let down our guards. Our best defense continues to be vigilance.As San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, FBI officials and others haverepeatedly said, if you see something, say something.

If you see something that seems suspicious, don’t hesitate, pick up the phone andcall 911 or the FBI. It may be people you’ve never seen before. It may be multipledeliveries of packages. It may be groups of people coming and going from a

Remembering the fallen and protectingourselves

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house or apartment. It may be something entirely different that just seems odd orout of place. If anything causes you concern, report it and let the authoritiesdetermine whether or not it is something to be concerned about.

We already know that law enforcement has prevented numerous attacks andmade numerous arrests based on information provided by the public. Our bestdefense against terrorism is to be nosy and willing to pick up a phone and make acall.

We’ll probably never be able to thwart every attack, but if we stay alert and heedlaw enforcement’s advise, the odds are that we won’t see attacks such as the onein San Bernardino repeated in our region, state or country.

As we remember those who died at the Inland Regional Center, we offer ourcondolences to their family and friends and urge everyone to redouble ourefforts to prevent future attacks.

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12/4/2017 Sandy Hook School Shooting: The Police Five Years On - WSJ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sandy-hook-school-shooting-the-police-five-years-on-1512392400 1/3

In the days following the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown,Conn., Police Chief Michael Kehoe would scream in his sleep, reliving the gruesome scene in hisdreams.

After encountering the mass shooting of 20 schoolchildren and six adults, Mr. Kehoe says hefound himself overwhelmed at times. His relationship with his wife suffered because he orderedher around in an attempt to exert control. And he was wrought with guilt.

“To have that much in one day can really hit you hard,” says Mr. Kehoe, 62 years old. “This isyour watch. This is your community. This is where you are paid to keep the community safe.”

The Sandy Hook school shooting helped accelerate how police departments approach mental-health care for their officers, particularly in preparing for mass-casualty events. It promptedmany police chiefs across the U.S. to become more receptive to proactively addressing trauma,said James Baker, director of advocacy for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The police chief’s association has several new initiatives aimed at officer trauma. One programfocuses on collective healing within a police department and the broader community followinga mass-casualty event. The association is currently in the process of selecting policedepartments for a pilot program. Another concentrates on improving resiliency to everydaytrauma among police officers.

“I think it’s a major shift in the way enforcement has looked at officers exposed trauma,” Mr.Baker said.

Mr. Kehoe, who retired in 2016 after more than three decades on the force, says he has learnedto live with the horrors of Dec. 14, 2012, in part by working with police departments around the

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U.S.

Sandy Hook School Shooting: The PoliceFive Years OnThe tragedy helped change how police departments approach mental-health care for of�icers

Former Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe in his home in Watertown, Conn. ‘To have that much in one day can really hit youhard,’ he says. PHOTO: MEREDITH HEUER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Dec. 4, 2017 8�00 a.m. ET

By Joseph De Avila

12/4/2017 Sandy Hook School Shooting: The Police Five Years On - WSJ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sandy-hook-school-shooting-the-police-five-years-on-1512392400 2/3

country to put in place mental-health care to support officers. He helped develop a manual withthe U.S. Department of Justice and the National Alliance for Mental Health, called “Preparingfor the Unimaginable.”

Mr. Kehoe traveled to Texas following the murder of five police officers in Dallas in 2016 tospeak to the Texas Major Cities Chiefs, an association of police leaders, about treating trauma.He’s also recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak with the Australian Federal Policeabout their push to improve mental-health care for their officers.

Studies show that about 15% of police officers will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder overthe course of their career, said John Violanti, research professor at School of Public Health andHealth Professions at the University of Buffalo. About one-third of officers will develop somePTSD symptoms, he said.

In the immediate aftermath of traumatic events, it’s common for a person to shake, havestomach butterflies and experience tunnel vision. The long-term effects, which may not showup for months or years, can include depression, anxiety, alcoholism, marital problems orsuicidal thoughts.

Anthony Cipriano, a now-retired Connecticut State Trooper who was on the scene of the SandyHook shooting, says he spoke to a psychologist on that day, but when the psychologist touchedbase a few days later he had no recollection of that conversation.

He says the shooting was especially hard for him because his stepson was around the age of thechildren who were killed.

Five years later, Mr. Cipriano is working as a Connecticut state marshal. He says he’s in bettershape but can still get agitated especially during the active shooter drills he conducts at localschools.

“I get a little aggravated during the lockdown drills when the teachers and students don’t takeit as seriously as I think they should,” Mr. Cipriano said.

Nearly every member of the Newtown Police Department’s 45-person squad was at Sandy HookElementary School the day of the shooting. Many are still with the force.

“I think our officers are doing well,” says James Viadero, Newtown’s current police chief.“There’s been a lot of work getting us to the point where we are...We found what worked for usover here. It’s still ongoing.”

The town’s police department began working with HEART 9/11, an organization made up of firstresponders of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack that provides peer counseling to police officers,following the school shooting. Attitudes about counseling among cops have improved, said BillKeegan, founder of the group.

“There has been a cultural change,” Mr. Keegan said. Years ago, “there was that attitude of‘suck it up, get over it, have a few beers.’”

The town opened a new Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2016 after the town demolished the original facility. Many of theNewtown police of�icers who responded the day of the shooting are still with the force. PHOTO: MEREDITH HEUER FOR THEWALL STREET JOURNAL

12/4/2017 Sandy Hook School Shooting: The Police Five Years On - WSJ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sandy-hook-school-shooting-the-police-five-years-on-1512392400 3/3

Looking back, Mr. Kehoe credits the counseling he received and the support of his wife formaking him a better person who has come to grips with the tragedy.

“Sometimes things are out of your control. What we did that day was save a lot of people,” Mr.Kehoe said. “Because if we don’t show up, others die.”

Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com

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Who better to help San Bernardino County

taxpayers with their taxes than the tax

collector?

San Bernardino County Tax Collector Oscar Valdez By JOE NELSON | jnelson@scng.com | San Bernardino Sun

PUBLISHED: December 4, 2017 at 11:55 am | UPDATED: December 4, 2017 at 8:13 pm

San Bernardino County Tax Collector Oscar Valdez will meet with taxpayers, answer property

tax-related questions, and assist with processing tax payments from 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Wednesday.

Valdez will meet with residents at the Property Tax Payment Center, located at the Recorder’s

Office, at the High Desert Government Center in Hesperia, 15900 Smoke Tree St.

Only checks and credit cards will be accepted forms of payments. No cash will be accepted.

For faster service, please bring a copy of your tax bill.

For more information or to pay online, visit www.MyTaxCollector.com.

12/5/2017 Confronting sobering truths about welfare in the High Desert - Opinion - VVdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

http://www.vvdailypress.com/opinion/20171203/confronting-sobering-truths-about-welfare-in-high-desert 1/3

By Joseph W. BradyPosted Dec 3, 2017 at 12:01 AMUpdated Dec 4, 2017 at 9:33 AM

The number of people receiving public assistance is often cited by commenters asone of the greatest challenges facing the High Desert. According to the latest datafrom the San Bernardino County Department of Human Services, the numbersare, indeed, quite staggering. Among the nearly 400,000 residents of the fiveincorporated cities on the High Desert and their surrounding unincorporatedareas roughly 56 percent receive some form of public assistance, which includesMedi-Cal (health services), CalWorks (commonly referred to as welfare) and CalFresh (formerly known as food stamps).

Critics of public assistance and the people who receive it need a betterunderstanding of the economic benefits these dollars provide our communities,as well as the built-in disincentives to work that these programs create. Only byembracing the complexity of this issue can we hope to work toward reducing theproportion of our population receiving aid while acknowledging the role thatpublic assistance plays in sustaining the High Desert economy.

Collectively, CalWorks and Cal Fresh put roughly $940 million annually into thehands of High Desert residents. The vast majority of these funds are spentlocally, creating multiplier effects throughout our economy. Even accounting forthe fact that food sales are not subject to sales tax and that some of these dollarsflow into the untaxed underground economy it is reasonable to assume thatapproximately $2 million per year flow into our city treasuries as a result oftaxable spending by High Desert public assistance recipients. If one goes on toconsider Medi-Cal benefits (estimated by the state at $818 per month perrecipient) the numbers obviously go much higher. Undoubtedly, the jobs,salaries and expenditures of those who work in the retail, food service and

Confronting sobering truths about welfare inthe High Desert

12/5/2017 Confronting sobering truths about welfare in the High Desert - Opinion - VVdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

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healthcare sectors of the High Desert economy depend, in large part, on thedollars generated by public assistance recipients. Were these dollars to besuddenly cut off or significantly reduced the local economy would collapse.

Having said all of that is it not preferable for those on public assistance to enterthe paid workforce? A single parent with three children would need to make atleast $1,450 per month plus medical benefits to beat what they now receive frompublic assistance. A 30-hour per week job earning $10.50 per hour would payjust $1,260 monthly. Considering these facts some might argue that remainingon public assistance is a rational economic choice for many recipients. Reversingthis built-in disincentive to work would require either that benefits be reduced(which would hurt both the recipients and the local economy) or that the jobskills of recipients be upgraded so that they might command salaries and benefitsin excess of the minimum wage. I would argue that the latter approach offers ourbest chance at confronting the public assistance dilemma.

As a trustee at Victor Valley Community College I, along with my counterpartsat Barstow Community College, represent the best opportunity for upwardmobility for High Desert public assistance recipients. We offer occupationaltraining in numerous professions that offer good paying job opportunities. Justas importantly, for students that meet income requirements (as all public aidrecipients do), community college tuition is free of charge. A list of andprograms available at Victor Valley College can be viewed athttp://vvc.edu/schedule/catalogs.shtml.

In addition to upgrading the job skills of our local workforce, reducing thedependent population requires an infusion of additional good paying jobs.Attracting new employers to the area necessitates that we address the issue ofviolent crime, as I have persistently argued in recent months. The future vitalityof the High Desert will depend, in large part, on our effectiveness in improvingthe marketability of our communities and our workforce.

Joseph W. Brady is president of The Bradco Companies and a Victor Valley Community

College Trustee.

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12/5/2017 At Victorville fairgrounds, MCLB donating tents for homeless warming shelter

http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20171204/at-victorville-fairgrounds-mclb-donating-tents-for-homeless-warming-shelter 1/2

By Shea Johnson Staff Writer Posted Dec 4, 2017 at 2:56 PMUpdated Dec 4, 2017 at 2:56 PM

The donation comes after a fairgrounds buildinghistorically used as winter shelter was seriously damagedby fire in July.

San Bernardino County Supervisors are expected Tuesday to OK an agreementwith the Marine Corp Logistics Base in Barstow which is donating two militarytents to act as homeless warming shelters through March at the fairgrounds inVictorville.

The donation comes after a fairgrounds building historically used as wintershelter was seriously damaged by fire in July.

Each tent can accommodate 21 people, according to a county staff reportoutlining the non-financial agreement between the county and MCLB.

The county is acting as a facilitator because MCLB would not enter into such adeal with a non-governmental agency.

The warming shelters are part of the Annual Rescue Mission Event organized byVictorville-based High Desert Homeless Services, Inc. and the tents will be opento homeless from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. — starting last week — when temperatures dipbelow 40 degrees or in times of rain and snow.

Previously, the Victor Valley Rescue Mission had undertaken the responsibility,but High Desert Homeless Services offered this year to run operations, whichwill be overseen by volunteer teams.

At Victorville fairgrounds, MCLB donating tentsfor homeless warming shelter

12/5/2017 At Victorville fairgrounds, MCLB donating tents for homeless warming shelter

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From now until March 31, the nonprofit plans to provide the homeless withsleeping accommodations at the fairgrounds, located on Seventh Street.

Restroom facilities and sinks are available onsite and temporary fencing willsurround the site.

Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow

him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.

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12/5/2017 Victorville City Council meeting: What to watch for

http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20171204/victorville-city-council-meeting-what-to-watch-for 1/2

By Staff reportsPosted Dec 4, 2017 at 3:26 PMUpdated Dec 4, 2017 at 3:26 PM

VICTORVILLE — The City Council will meet 6 p.m. Tuesday for its regularly scheduled meeting in council chambers atCity Hall, 14343 Civic Dr. Notable items on the agenda include:

Appointment of mayor and mayor pro tem to one-year terms, as is customary each December End-of-year update provided by Don Holland, a top aide for San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor RobertLovingood Forty-first amendment to city contract with San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcementservices Rejection of all bids for interagency Safe Route to School Project after necessary federal forms were not received byall bidders; the project will be re-advertised Rejection of seven bids for the Seventh Street Median Desert Landscape Upgrade Project after the lowest bid came innearly 44 percent above the project budget allowance; city will revise scope of work in effort to reduce constructionbid amounts Officials are also likely to discuss the process to replace outgoing City Manager Doug Robertson, who was recentlyhired as the top administrator in the town of Apple Valley

Meetings can be watched live online at ci.victorville.ca.us or viewed as archived versions.

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Victorville City Council meeting: What to watch for

12/5/2017 Santa to help light Apple Valley Christmas tree Tuesday

http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20171204/santa-to-help-light-apple-valley-christmas-tree-tuesday 1/2

By L.J. Gambone / For the Daily PressPosted Dec 4, 2017 at 5:10 PMUpdated Dec 4, 2017 at 5:17 PM

It’s almost Christmas and Santa Claus will be coming to town for a special visitTuesday at 5 p.m. at the Town of Apple Valley’s annual Christmas Tree Lightingevent and ceremony.

According to Kenneth Sousa, public relations specialist for the Town of AppleValley, Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive in a fire truck and will assist the TownCouncil members in turning on the lights to the giant Christmas tree at TownHall, 14955 Dale Evans Parkway.

“Several times through the years Santa has arrived by fire truck, just because it’sexciting and kids love firetrucks,” said Sousa. ” He will be joined by his elves andalso will have few more surprises.

“We try to change things up from time to time to keep the event interesting. Inthe past, Santa has arrived by golf cart and by a horse drawn carriage.”

Along with helping to light the tree, Santa also will be available for free familyphotos for a limited time afterward. Guests are required to provide their owncameras, Sousa said.

Apple Valley’s tree lighting ceremony began in 2003 at its current location. Theevent features food vendors, complimentary hot chocolate, free ornaments(while supplies last) and a host of other family-friendly activities. Liveentertainment will be provided by the vocal trio A Penny A Kiss and studentsfrom A Dancer’s Pointe studio in Apple Valley also will perform.

“A Penny A Kiss has performed at multiple tree lighting events, as well as otherevents for the Town, including the 4th of July Freedom Festival, banquets andholiday parties,” said Sousa. “Each year, students of all ages from a Dancer’s

Santa to help light Apple Valley Christmas treeTuesday

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Pointe have been a part of the festivities and perform a variety of holidaynumbers.”

Sousa said the town’s holiday event will culminate at 6 p.m. with the lighting ofthe “Grand Tree of Lights” between Town Hall and the Development ServicesBuilding. Mayor Scott Nassif and Town Council members, along with Santa, willlead the countdown to the tree lighting.

Admission and parking are free.

For more information, call 760-240-7000, ext. 7071, or visitwww.applevalleyevents.org.

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12/5/2017 Vandalism of Berlin Wall portion at San Bernardino’s Ronald Reagan Park concerns neighbors, city – San Bernardino Sun

http://www.sbsun.com/2017/12/04/vandalism-of-berlin-wall-portion-at-san-bernardinos-ronald-reagan-park-concerns-neighbors-city/ 1/3

By BRIAN WHITEHEAD | bwhitehead@scng.com | San Bernardino SunPUBLISHED: December 4, 2017 at 1:51 pm | UPDATED: December 4, 2017 at 10:11 pm

Ongoing vandalism of the Berlin Wall portion at San Bernardino’s Ronald Reagan Park has prompted many neighborhood leaders to ask that thewall be moved to a safe haven by the city. (Photo by Brian Whitehead, San Bernardino Sun/SCNG)

Ongoing vandalism of the Berlin Wall portion at San Bernardino’s Ronald Reagan Park has neighborhood leaders asking the city to

preserve the iconic slab in a safe haven until something is done to stop its abuse.

In a Sunday email to city leaders, a resident of the Verdemont neighborhood shared great sadness in seeing the artifact’s “demise” at the

hands of vandals.

“I fear a loss of the wall’s integrity and a forced removal of a skeleton sooner or later,” the man wrote.

The 3-ton portion of the Berlin Wall, which came down in Germany in 1989, was dedicated in a 2011 ceremony at the park and purported to

serve as a history lesson for all.

“It’s going to be the No. 1 educational tool for the Inland Empire,” former Councilman Chas Kelley said at the time.

The city planned on adding a walking path and other amenities to make the 4-acre park an attraction for out-of-towners and

schoolchildren, but scrapped those plans a�er falling into bankruptcy in 2012.

LOCAL NEWS

Vandalism of Berlin Wall portion at San Bernardino’sRonald Reagan Park concerns neighbors, city

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Recently, community members have noticed huge chunks of the wall missing – presumably knocked out by vandals. These neighbors hope

the city can �nd a safer way of displaying the slab.

“I think it’s to the point where we’ll need to make a decision on whether it’s appropriate to keep (the piece) there if we can’t provide

adequate security,” 5th Ward Councilman Henry Nickel said in a phone interview Monday. “It’s a historic relic that needs to be preserved in

a way that’s appropriate given its signi�cance.”

Nickel is urging the city to look at installing surveillance cameras and lighting near the park – similar safety measures have been taken at

other city parks to deter crime, Nickel noted.

“Because the park is in a location that’s unprotected,” the councilman said, “we have to make a determination as to whether perhaps we

relocate (the piece) or do something to protect it.

“We can’t keep things the way they are.”

 

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Brian WhiteheadBrian Whitehead covers San Bernardino for The Sun. Bred in Grand Terrace, he graduated from Riverside Notre DameHigh and Cal State Fullerton. For seven years, he covered high school and college sports for The Orange County Register.Before landing at The Sun, he was the city beat reporter for Buena Park, Fullerton and La Palma.

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12/5/2017 Ontario police find, tackle, arrest teen accused of throwing kitten in video – Daily Bulletin

http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/12/04/ontario-police-arrest-teen-wanted-in-connection-with-cat-throwing-video/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_m… 1/3

By GAIL WESSON | gwesson@scng.com | The Press-Enterprise

PUBLISHED: December 4, 2017 at 4:26 pm | UPDATED: December 4, 2017 at 10:10 pm

Spot the cat recovers at The Inland Valley Humane Society & S.P.C.A. in this photo provided by IVHS.

Ontario police say they have arrested the 16-year-old boy who is suspected of throwing a kitten high in the air as shown in a video that went

viral over the weekend.

Of cers spotted the suspect near Seventh Street and Berlyn Avenue in Upland about 1:45 p.m. Monday, and the boy ran but was quickly

tackled and taken into custody, Ontario police Sgt. Jeff Higbee wrote in a news release.

The suspect is an Ontario resident. Because he is a juvenile, police will not release his name or additional information.

The teen was booked into San Bernardino County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of felony animal abuse.

Police were noti ed early Saturday of a video depicting a male throwing a white cat, football-style, down a driveway and into the middle of a

street. Ontario police were able to identify the suspect Saturday afternoon. They also located the cat’s owner.

The kitten, named Spot, is suffering from a broken leg, fractured leg and internal injuries, according to a release from the Inland Valley Humane

Society & S.P.C.A. She will remain under emergency care until she has made a full recovery, according to the release.

The society sent out an email request for donations Monday stating that donations “will help us fund Spot’s miracle medical care.” The society’s

Operations Manager James Edward did not return a call requesting comment Monday afternoon.

Police asked anyone with additional information about the incident to contact Detective Gary Naranjo at 909-395-2764.

NEWSCRIME

Ontario police �nd, tackle, arrest teen accused of throwingkitten in video

12/5/2017 Upland’s animal noise ordinance looks to bite down on issues – Daily Bulletin

http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/12/04/uplands-animal-noise-ordinance-looks-to-bite-down-on-issues/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tw… 1/3

By LISET MARQUEZ | lmarquez@scng.com | Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

PUBLISHED: December 4, 2017 at 2:18 pm | UPDATED: December 4, 2017 at 10:10 pm

Upland officials are moving forward with a plan to implement a new procedure for reporting and prosecuting situations involving habitual animalnoises. (Staff file photo by John Valenzuela, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

UPLAND >> Upland of cials are moving forward with a plan to implement a new procedure for reporting and prosecuting situations involving

habitual animal noises.

The council gave its initial approval Nov. 27 to an ordinance, amending the municipal code, which streamlines reporting requirements.

Under the proposed ordinance, a person could rely on an independent second party, such as the city’s animal services department, to

corroborate an animal noise complaint.

Right now, a report of a nuisance, which for the most part is for barking dogs, can be dif cult for the city to take because it requires three

separate individuals to sign a complaint, said Upland Police Lt. Marcelo Blanco.

Although the current process avoids neighbors – who may have a separate ongoing dispute – from initiating a complaint as retaliation, Blanco

said it poses another problem.

LOCAL NEWS

Upland’s animal noise ordinance looks to bite down onissues

12/5/2017 Upland’s animal noise ordinance looks to bite down on issues – Daily Bulletin

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There have been cases, he said, when neighbors don’t want to get involved in the complaint and nothing can be done because it doesn’t meet

the three-individual reporting threshold.

This ordinance removes that con ict, Blanco said.

Code enforcement and animal services will oversee the complaints, he said.

“This has been structured as a three strikes you’re out,” Blanco said. “The rst time, second time and third time is a $100 infraction that the

homeowner will get. Beyond that point, if the dog continues to be a nuisance then that moves into an administrative citation which goes up to

$1,000 and criminal prosecution.”

The ordinance, however, won’t apply to dogs who bark at the mailman or a passing car.

“Dogs bark and we understand that,” Blanco said.

The city won’t judge noise complaints by the decibel levels, either.

“We have a current complaint where the person has hours of video and audio of a dog just barking. I would constitute that as habitual,” Blanco

explained to the city council at its Nov. 27 meeting.

The nes would help the city recover any costs when it has to bring in its city attorney, he said.

Councilwoman Janice Elliott said she was pleased to see there would be an “independent second party, that will verify that the dog was

disturbing the peace.”

“Then we have minimized the possibility of somebody doing this just to harm somebody they don’t like,” she said.

Councilwoman Carol Timm noted that once a complaint has been corroborated, Upland will issue a citation but animal services staff will

provide the owner with educational tips or guidance to resolve the issue.

“You’ll basically see an owner who doesn’t care, or doesn’t do anything about it, who’s going to be ned,” she said.

Blanco agreed.

“Our goal is always compliance before enforcement,” he said.

Upland City Council is expected to give nal approval of the ordinance change at its next meeting, Dec. 11.

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SCNGreporterLisetMarquez

Liset MarquezLiset Marquez has covered the foothill communities of Rancho Cucamonga, Upland and Claremont since 2014. She has beenwith the Daily Bulletin since 2006.

Follow Liset Marquez @Journaliset

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12/5/2017 Mini-mall sent back to drawing board - Champion Newspapers: News

http://www.championnewspapers.com/news/article_26651a2c-d6dc-11e7-92f1-0b4a5358f9e2.html?mode=print 1/2

Mini-mall sent back to drawing boardBy Erin Tobin | Posted: Saturday, December 2, 2017 8:00 am

It’s a wonderful project in the wrong location.

That was the sentiment of the Chino city council during its recent discussion of a commercial centerproposed for the northwest corner of Chino and Pipeline avenues.

On Nov. 21, the council sent the project back to city staff to resolve areas of concern expressed by theplanning commission when it denied the project Oct. 16. The staff had recommended that the planningcommission denial be overturned.

Councilman Earl Elrod said the applicant has a lot of homework to do, especially with the traffic survey. “Ithink it’s premature for us to approve this project,” he said.

Neighbors opposed the mini-mall because of non-compatibility with the residential area, lighting from thecenter, restaurant odors, vehicle fumes, drainage concerns, and traffic impacts, especially from the drive-thru.

Christopher Chung, the project manager for Creative Design Associates, said he was willing to remove thedrive-thru restaurant as well as a left turnout of the project, even though he previously stated that the projectwould not pencil out without a drive-thru.

Without the drive-thru restaurant, the project will not need a conditional use permit, according to city staff.

“I still believe the drive-thru is necessary for the feasibility of the project,” Mr. Chung said. “But if it is themain issue keeping us from getting this project through, then let’s look at ways to move forward.”

Mr. Chung said more than $1 million has already been invested in offsite improvements related to movingutilities underground, widening streets, and relocating catch basins, traffic signals, and streetlights.

The site, across the street from Don Lugo High School, has been suggested for a number of developmentsover the past decade. In 1993, it was annexed into the city and was zoned as a commercial property to makeway for a church, which fell through. Another developer tried to build a gas station there in 2014, but nevergained approval.

Following the failed gas station, Creative Design Associates proposed a shopping center on the 1.89 acre locontaining 18 individual businesses, an outside dining area, 83 parking spaces and a drive-thru restaurant orcoffee shop.

A number of residents of the area, as well as parents of students from nearby Don Lugo High school and therepresentative of a preschool which would be operating near the proposed center, came out to speak againstthe commercial center. Traffic was one of the most common concerns.

The developer planned to change the striping of Pipeline Avenue near the project site. A dashed medianwould have been painted, and a left turn refuge lane would be added. This would allow drivers wanting toturn left into the project to pull into a separate lane while waiting for a break in on-coming traffic.

12/5/2017 Mini-mall sent back to drawing board - Champion Newspapers: News

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Ken Jeske, who said he lived in the second house north of the project on Pipeline Avenue, pointed out thatportion of Pipeline Avenue is an average of 51 feet wide and cars are allowed to park on both sides of thestreet, leaving lanes of only about four feet wide for through traffic. A traffic study was performed on thearea.

According to the traffic engineer Gincarlo Gandinni, who performed the traffic impact study for thedevelopment, the site is currently considered a level C, and would remain so after the center would be built.Levels A through D are considered acceptable. Those in contention to the development pointed out the studywas over two years old, and traffic has already become worse in the area. “We already have more trafficthan Pipeline can handle,” said Jeff Jolicoeur who claimed to lived directly north of the project. “Pipeline isnot large enough to handle what they are purposing there.”

Both residents and parents of Don Lugo students expressed concern that the center would become a hangoutspot for teenagers.

Mr. Chung said that the school district was supportive of the development.

“I met with the superintendent and he didn’t submit a letter of opposition,” he said. “He said as long as itwasn’t a gas station with alcohol they had no issues.”

Irene Hernandez-Blair, a member of the Chino Valley school board, reacted in surprise to that statement,and sent a text message to school superintendent Wayne Joseph. She said he responded, “Nope, that’s nottrue. In 2016, the developer met with (assistant superintendent Greg) Stachura and me to inform us of hisplans, we both just listened.”

12/5/2017 Strong winds shut down Christmas lights display at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana – Daily Bulletin

http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/12/04/strong-winds-shut-down-christmas-lights-display-at-auto-club-speedway-in-fontana/?utm_source=dl… 1/3

By MIKE CRUZ | mcruz@scng.com | San Bernardino Sun

PUBLISHED: December 4, 2017 at 5:06 pm | UPDATED: December 4, 2017 at 5:56 pm

This holiday season the Auto Club Speedway is hosting a 1.5 mile drive-throughholiday light display labeled the Magic of Lights, running from November 17 throughDecember 31, 2017 in Fontana, Ca., November 20, 2017. (John Valenzuela/InlandValley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

LOCAL NEWS

Strong winds shut down Christmaslights display at Auto ClubSpeedway in Fontana

12/5/2017 Strong winds shut down Christmas lights display at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana – Daily Bulletin

http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/12/04/strong-winds-shut-down-christmas-lights-display-at-auto-club-speedway-in-fontana/?utm_source=dl… 2/3

Strong winds have prompted Auto Club Speedway of cials to close the Magic of

Lights event Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 4-5, according to an ACS email alert and

social media.

The Fontana race track is hosting the Christmas lights display, which takes drivers

and their passengers on a 1½-mile course past — and sometimes through —

illuminated holiday scenes through Dec. 31.

Auto Club Speedway is located at 9300 Cherry Avenue.

For updates, go to www.autoclubspeedway.com/magico ights

The @MagicofLights event at Auto Club Speedway is closedtoday, Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, 2017 due to high winds. For updates,go to autoclubspeedway.com/magicoflights #magicoflights4:28 PM - Dec 4, 2017

2 4

Auto Club Speedway@ACSupdates

12/5/2017 Mountain High sets resort opening date as ski season officially kicks off in Southern California – Press Enterprise

http://www.pe.com/2017/12/04/mountain-high-sets-resort-opening-date-as-ski-season-officially-kicks-off-in-southern-california/?utm_source=… 1/4

By STAFF REPORT | Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: December 4, 2017 at 5:21 pm | UPDATED: December 4, 2017 at 7:12 pm

Staff file photoA skier makes his way past snowblowers on Coyote run during opening day in 2016 atMountain High in Wrightwood.

LOCAL NEWS

Mountain High sets resortopening date as ski seasonofficially kicks off in SouthernCalifornia

12/5/2017 Mountain High sets resort opening date as ski season officially kicks off in Southern California – Press Enterprise

http://www.pe.com/2017/12/04/mountain-high-sets-resort-opening-date-as-ski-season-officially-kicks-off-in-southern-california/?utm_source=… 2/4

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Mountain High resort in Wrightwood will open on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Skiers and

snowboarders can hit the slopes from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. , according to a news

release.

“Mountain High has nearly three times the water available for snowmaking this

year,” according to the release, “which means better coverage, more terrain

features and longer seasons.”

Last year’s wet winter weather will bene�t skiers and snowboarders this season.

“We are absolutely stoked about the new season,” said John McColly, Mountain

High chief marketing of�cer. “It’s expected to be a great one with new features in

our terrain park, new online ticket products, and tons of water for snowmaking.”

The Big Pines base lodge and The Foggy Goggle will open on Wednesday. The

Bullwheel Grill will open December 16.

Night operations are expected to begin in mid-December.

Information: mthigh.com.

RELATED: How the mountain resorts have been preparing for opening day

Staff report

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12/5/2017 More than 150 structures destroyed, 27,000 people evacuated in raging Ventura wildfire - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-school-fire-20171204-story.html?15124689197792 1/6

A

More than 150 structures destroyed, 27,000people evacuated in raging Ventura wildfire

By Alene Tchekmedyian, Jaclyn Cosgrove, Ruben Vives and Sonali Kohli

DECEMBER 5, 2017, 7:10 AM | REPORTING FROM VENTURA

fast-moving, wind-fueled wildfire swept into the city of Ventura early Tuesday, burning 31,000

acres, destroying homes and forcing 27,000 people to evacuate.

At least 150 structures — including at least one large apartment complex — were consumed by

flames, and many more were threatened as the fire crept about a quarter-mile away from City Hall.

But the destruction appears to be much worse as the sun rose Tuesday, revealing fire sweeping through whole

neighborhoods in the hills above Ventura.

The fire hopscotched through hillside neighborhoods, burning some homes and sparing others. Some residents

sensed the the worst might be over in the early hours of the morning when winds died down. But they picked up

with a fury around daybreak, causing more destruction.

Strong winds were pushing the blaze in a southwest direction toward the cities of Santa Paula and Ventura, leading to new evacuations ofhomes north of Foothill Road in Ventura and reports of power outages.

12/5/2017 More than 150 structures destroyed, 27,000 people evacuated in raging Ventura wildfire - LA Times

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Engulfed in flames, the Hawaiian Village Apartments collapsed about 4 a.m.

Water gushed down North Laurel Street as firefighters worked to put out the flaming complex and residents

watched, holding cameras and cellphones. The sound of bursting propane tanks filled the air.

Hundreds of firefighters working through the night tried to prevent the blaze from spreading, block by block, as

they were confronted by wind gusts of up to 50 mph.

One firefighter was hit by a car while he was protecting homes. He is at the hospital being evaluated, said

Ventura County Fire Capt. Scott Quirarte.

Fire officials said the intensity of the fire, coupled with the high winds, made it pretty much unstoppable.

"The prospects for containment are not good,” Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said at a news

conference. “Really, Mother Nature is going to decide.”

The Thomas fire had burned 31,000 acres, but fire officials expected it would rip through at least 50,000 acres

in the mountains between Santa Paula and Ventura. By 5:20 a.m. Tuesday, winds were pushing flames toward

Ojai Valley, authorities said.

“The fire is actively burning in the city of Ventura and there are homes and buildings actively burning at this

time,” Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Eric Buschow said.

The destruction comes in what was already the worst year on record for wildfires in California. In October,

more than 40 people died and more than 10,000 structures were lost when fires swept through Northern

California’s wine country.

The Vista Del Mar hospital, a psychiatric facility, was evacuated, authorities said. The area around a Ventura

landmark called Two Trees has also burned.

Ventura County fire officials reported Monday night that one person was killed in a traffic accident on a road

closed due to the Thomas fire. But at about 6 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said no fatalities were confirmed —

although one dog had died, Quirarte said.

At least 1,000 homes in Ventura, Santa Paula and Ojai were evacuated.

More than 260,000 customers in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties were without power. As of 12:30 a.m.

Tuesday, a Southern California Edison spokeswoman did not know when power would be restored.

About 2 a.m., Karen Kwan-Holt stood near Ventura High School and watched her neighbor’s house burn. For 17

years, she’s lived in a hillside home her husband built, with him and their two children.

Hours earlier, the family packed up their precious items, including photographs and their guinea pigs, Guinea

Penny and Gert.

12/5/2017 More than 150 structures destroyed, 27,000 people evacuated in raging Ventura wildfire - LA Times

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“It’s a house that was built with love,” she said, watching the tree between her neighbor’s home and her home

catch fire. “We’re just hoping for the best.”

Meanwhile, Tom Weaver, 73, had just finished packing some suit coats in the back of a van. He and his family

were evacuating their home near Main Street in Ventura.

Nearby, homes burned on a hillside. Weaver said he wasn’t sure where they would go once they evacuated.

“Don’t know,” he said. “We’re designating a parking lot to meet at. From there, I think it’s breakfast and

chitchat [until] we can go home.”

In Santa Paula around the same time, residents were already awake and alert when a police cruiser inched

through their neighborhood, announcing mandatory evacuations. At least one woman in a white robe stopped

the cruiser and asked how close the fire was to the neighborhood.

“It’s coming across this way,” the officer said.

Nearby, Mike Medina stood by Say and Roger roads, watching the flames slowly making their way down the

canyon through a gap of tree branches and snapping a photo.

Earlier in the day, when the fire broke out, Medina said he was returning home from work at Costco in Oxnard

when his 73-year-old mother called him.

“She told me, ‘I could see flames in the back of our yard,’” he said. He said he knew his father, an amputee,

would need help getting out.

Medina drove straight to his parents’ home. When he got there, he saw flames in the distance. The winds,

strong enough to shove a person, picked up dust. He stayed with his parents until authorities ordered them to

leave.

Medina said a wildfire had burned down his parents’ home on the early 1980s. They rebuilt it, and now he

wondered if it was still standing.

“To see it almost burn, they must be losing their minds,” he said.

Strong winds were pushing the blaze southwest toward Ventura and Highway 33, officials said. About 500

firefighters were battling the blaze, or on their way there. Fixed-wing aircraft and water-dropping helicopters

were expected to attack the fire at daybreak. Numerous spot fires erupted as a result of the difficult conditions.

After midnight, residents just outside the evacuation zone wondered whether they should pack up and leave.

Taylor Penny, 24, and her neighbor Eric Chen, 31, stood in the road of their neighborhood just south of Foothill

Road.

12/5/2017 More than 150 structures destroyed, 27,000 people evacuated in raging Ventura wildfire - LA Times

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For the past hour, they’d watched the flames ebb and flow along the nearby hills. Chen said the flames seemed

to be lessening, but Penny remained worried as they stood in the wind and cold.

The power in the neighborhood was out, and Penny said they had limited access to information about the size

and locations of the fire because their cellphones had poor reception.

“I just hope we’re all right,” she said. “That’s it.”

About 12:45 a.m., Karen McCleery stood in her driveway near plastic candy canes and other Christmas

decorations, watching the fire burn a nearby hillside.

Like many of her neighbors in Foothill Heights, just south of Foothill Road in Ventura, McCleery took comfort

that the fire had one more hill it would have to burn before reaching their neighborhood. Nevertheless, many

wondered when it would be time to leave.

She said she lost power about 6 p.m. Monday.

“That was our first sign,” McCleery, 65, said. “And then you could just see it racing across the ridge.”

Not far from McCleery’s home, Eddie Barragan, 43, and his wife Maria, 39, sat in folding camp chairs at the

corner of North Wells Road and Loma Vista Road.

The couple had been watching the fire for four hours as family members waited inside their home. Barragan, an

iron worker who has worked as a wildland firefighter, said he was studying the flames and paying attention to

how the wind shifted.

“If it comes over this next ridge, or the wind shifts, it takes one ember to get on one of these houses, and there it

goes,” he said.

The blaze started about 6:25 p.m. Monday in the foothills near Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, a

popular hiking destination, and grew wildly to more than 15 square miles in the hours that followed —

consuming vegetation that hasn't burned in decades, Ventura County Fire Sgt. Eric Buschow said.

Shortly after 10 p.m. Monday, Richard Macklin, a Ventura County fire engineer, was on the phone with a news

outlet when his fire station in Santa Paula — the command center for the incident — went dark.

“We have power now,” Macklin said about 10:20 p.m. “I got lights, I don’t know how they’re providing it.”

Authorities were evacuating homes east of Dickenson Road, north of Monte Vista Drive along Highway 150 and

south of the college in Santa Paula and homes north of Foothill Road in Ventura. The fire was burning on both

sides of the highway.

“We’re really just trying to catch it around the edges and just pinch it off as quickly as we possibly can,” said

Ventura County Firefighter Jason Hodge, adding that crews are dealing with 25 to 50 mph winds. “That’s what’s

12/5/2017 More than 150 structures destroyed, 27,000 people evacuated in raging Ventura wildfire - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-school-fire-20171204-story.html?15124689197792 5/6

driving this fire. So it’s a challenge, but everybody’s out there working hard and will be through the night.”

Santa Paula resident Fabian Mauricio, 31, was playing basketball in Los Angeles when friends began texting him

about a fire in his neighborhood. He said he called his parents, who tried to downplay the blaze to keep him

from worrying. But when he checked photos and videos online, he saw a raging inferno, he said.

As his parents packed important documents, clothing and their two dogs, they told him to stay put.

“I’m worried, but there’s nothing I can really do,” said Mauricio, who trained in a fire academy. “It is kind of

helpless not being able to be there, help or do anything about it.”

Since shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, firefighters were in place to protect homes along Highway 150 just north of

Santa Paula, said Ventura County Fire Capt. Stan Ziegler. Within an hour, the fire grew from 50 to 500 acres.

Evacuation centers were opened at Nordhoff High School at 1401 Maricopa Highway in Ojai and at the Ventura

County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Blvd. in Ventura.

As the blaze grew rapidly, four helicopters were to begin making water drops after crews determined that it was

safe to fly. But about 9:30 p.m., two helicopters were forced to land at Santa Paula Airport due to the high

winds. “Waiting for winds to slow down so we can get back in the fight,” officials said on Twitter.

“It’s always difficult and somewhat dangerous to fly at night, so depending on different conditions and the

geographic challenges is how they evaluate whether or not they can operate at night,” Hodge said.

Ventura County Fire staffed an extra 100 or so firefighters in anticipation of strong winds that triggered a red-

flag warning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Weather officials said those regions could see gusts of 50 to

70 mph Monday night into Tuesday.

“This is exactly what we have prepared for,” Ziegler said. “This is not a surprise by any means.”

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

jaclyn.cosgrove@latimes.com

ruben.vives@latimes.com

Cosgrove and Vives reported from Ventura, Tchekmedyian from Los Angeles. The AssociatedPress contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

6:20 a.m.: This article was updated with information about a reported animal fatality, a hospital evacuation.

4:15 a.m.: This article was updated with interviews with Ventura residents.

12/5/2017 Trump reduces size of two Utah national monuments; will California’s be next? – San Bernardino Sun

http://www.sbsun.com/2017/12/04/trump-reduces-size-of-two-utah-national-monuments-will-californias-be-next/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_me… 1/4

By STEVE SCAUZILLO | sscauzillo@scng.com | San Gabriel Valley TribunePUBLISHED: December 4, 2017 at 4:53 pm | UPDATED: December 4, 2017 at 8:18 pm

In this Feb. 20, 2011 photo, the San Gabriel Mountains rise above Pasadena. Part of the Angeles National Forest was designated the San GabrielMountains National Monument by President Barack Obama three years ago. (AP Photo/John Antczak)

President Trump’s announcement Monday to drastically reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah caused ripples of concern that

reached Southern California.

In response, environmental groups have �led a lawsuit, and a Congressional resolution supports a local monument within the Angeles

National Forest under federal review.

Trump’s action constitutes the largest reduction of public lands protection in the history of the United States and includes removing 1.1

million acres from Bears Ears and 800,000 acres from Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, reductions of 85 percent and 46

percent, respectively.

In Utah, the president signed proclamations at the urging of Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, who have lobbied the president

since the �rst week he took of�ce for reductions. The president, at the urging of both senators, along with cattle ranchers and energy

companies, see the protection as a federal overreach and want to remove it to grant access to these federal lands for grazing and energy

exploration and to create jobs.

“We will put our nation’s treasures to wonderful use,” the president said at the signing ceremony in Salt Lake City. “We will usher in a bright

new future of wonder and wealth.”

Changes to these two monuments drew praise from Republican leaders but not the 3,000 protesters outside the state capital who held signs

that read: “Keep your tiny hands off our public lands” and chanted “Lock him up!”

LOCAL NEWS

Trump reduces size of two Utah national monuments;will California’s be next?

12/5/2017 Trump reduces size of two Utah national monuments; will California’s be next? – San Bernardino Sun

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Nine environmental groups, including Earthjustice, the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club, �led a lawsuit, charging President Trump

with violating the 1906 Antiquities Act, which empowers presidents to establish extra protection of federal lands and cultural sites. Tribal

groups also opposed the action.

“We must oppose these attacks on our public lands or we risk losing precious places right here in California,” Daniel Rossman, senior

regional representative in Southern California for The Wilderness Society, wrote in an email. Those under review in California are:

Giant Sequoia National Monument

Carrizo Plain National Monument

Mojave Trails National Monument

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

Sand to Snow Monument

San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, 346,177 acres of national forest land representing more than 70 percent of Los Angeles

County’s scarce open space and the source of 30 percent of its drinking water

“The people of California know that protected public lands provide clean air and water, access to nature, preservation of Native American

culture and critical wildlife habitat, as well as a boost to local economies from recreation and tourism dollars,” Rossman added.

Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-El Monte, anticipated the president’s action. On Dec. 1, Napolitano and eight L.A. area representatives �led a

House Resolution honoring the San Gabriel Mountains monument established by President Barack Obama more than three years ago. The

resolution says the designation led to additional private and national funding for trail maintenance, trash collection and �re prevention

services and came about as a result of 10 years of meetings with business, religious, water, recreational, government and environmental

groups.

In an interview Monday, Napolitano said Trump is bending over backward to please the oil, gas and timber industries. But since the San

Gabriel Mountains are not a good source of these natural resources, many say the local monument will not be touched.

However, Napolitano worries Trump’s actions are motivated by a vindictive desire to erase Obama’s legacy, thereby making the San Gabriel

Mountains monument  a target.

“He’s just trying to undo anything that Obama did,” she said. When asked what message she wanted to send to Trump, she said, “Hands

off!”

The reductions in the two Utah monuments were the result of a presidential review carried out by Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke, a

former Montana congressman. Trump’s executive order from last April listed 27 national monuments for possible elimination or

reduction. At the time, Trump slammed past monuments designated by past presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as

“a massive federal land grab” and said he wanted to reverse the “egregious abuse of federal power.”

The Grand-Staircase, established by Clinton in 1996, is described as a “Shangri-la” and “geologic wonderland” by scientists, where fossils of

dinosaurs gave them glimpses into the lands 10 million years ago. Bears Ears, 1.3 million acres designated as a national monument last

year by Obama, features Native American artifacts, petroglyphs and ancient cliff dwellings.

Zinke has also recommended that Nevada’s Gold Butte and Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou monuments be reduced in size, though details

remain unclear. Zinke’s plan would allow logging at a newly designated monument in Maine and more grazing, hunting and �shing at two

sites in New Mexico. Napolitano said she has not received his report and Zinke has refused to answer her inquiries.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

12/5/2017 California needs fiscal restraint – even in good times – Daily Bulletin

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By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | opinion@scng.com |

December 4, 2017 at 7:30 pm

Getty Images

The California state capitol in Sacramento.

But as noted, the scenario of surpluses in 2018-19 through 2021-22 relies on two key components: persistent revenue growth and no

additional budget commitments. The likelihood of either is questionable even in the near term.

If all goes well, California can look forward to a General Fund budget surplus of $7.5 billion by the end of scal year 2018-19, according to the

non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Of ce.

In its Nov. 15 scal outlook, the LAO projected that under current estimates of revenue growth and absent any additional budget

commitments, the state can expect to end 2018-19 with $11.8 billion in rainy-day fund reserves and $7.5 billion in discretionary reserves that

the Legislature could spend if it chose to.

Beyond that point, the LAO also forecast longer-term budget scenarios through 2021-22. Under a view of continued economic growth,

California could see persistent General Fund budget surpluses of as much as $6 billion a year. This is the best-case scenario for Sacramento

politicians and special-interest groups, who of course would like nothing more than more money to put into new and bigger programs.

We know job growth is already slowing in the state and will continue to do so for years to come. The plausibility of an economic downturn or

stock market correction in the near future is also looming large, especially considering it has already been a decade since the last recession.

Being prepared to weather the storm is critical.

OPINION

California needs �scal restraint – even in good times

12/5/2017 California needs fiscal restraint – even in good times – Daily Bulletin

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Additional spending commitments by Sacramento on the basis of hoped-for continued revenue growth would be irresponsible, and ultimately

end in massive, panicked spending cuts when revenues fail to materialize.

Mindful of this, the LAO recommends the Legislature budget carefully, with an eye toward building reserves. While less appealing to politicians

than creating and funding new, shiny programs, setting aside more money now to avoid painful cuts in the future will better serve the public

than overspending in the short-term.

To make this point, the LAO projected a scenario including a recession beginning in 2019-20, showing that within a couple of years the state

could wipe out its reserves and face de cits requiring more than $10 billion in cuts.

As the LAO notes, this is a time of considerable uncertainty. With the impacts of potential federal changes to tax policy, health care, trade and

other signi cant issues as of yet unknown, as well as the unknown extent or timing of a recession, California cannot proceed as though we can

be at all certain that brighter days are ahead.

And as the LAO also points out, there are some things we can be certain of that should constrain new spending obligations anyway.

These include persistent, large increases in General Fund spending on big-ticket items including public employee pensions and other post-

employment bene ts.

Given all the potentially signi cant impacts of things of which we are certain and uncertain of, California cannot afford to go on a spending

spree. Gov. Jerry Brown must make clear to the Legislature that this is a time for scal discipline above all else.

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The Editorial BoardThe editorial board and opinion section staff are independent of the news-gathering side of our organization. Through ourstaff-written editorials, we take positions on important issues affecting our readership, from pension reform to protectingour region’s unique natural resources to transportation. The editorials are unsigned because, while written by one or more

members of our staff, they represent the point of view of our news organization’s management. In order to take informed positions, we meetfrequently with government, community and business leaders on important issues affecting our cities, region and state. During elections,we meet with candidates for of ce and the proponents and opponents of ballot initiatives and then make recommendations to voters.

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12/5/2017 Crime rates down in California, up in L.A. County, during period of criminal justice reform - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-crime-trend-study-20171204-story.html 1/3

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Crime rates down in California, up in L.A.County, during period of criminal justice reform

By Makeda Easter

DECEMBER 5, 2017, 6:00 AM

etween 2010 and 2016, crime in Los Angeles County — including property and violent crime — rose

by 5% even as overall crime in the rest of the state fell by the same rate, according to a report released

Tuesday.

The study by the nonprofit Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice analyzed city crime trends throughout

California during a period referred to as the “justice reform era,” where legislation, voter-approved initiatives

and court mandates brought major changes to California’s justice system.

Those initiatives include Proposition 47, the controversial 2014 ballot measure that downgraded multiple drug

and theft crimes to misdemeanors and allowed defendants to renegotiate their punishments, the Public Safety

Realignment law and Proposition 57, to shrink the state’s prison population and focus on rehabilitation, and

Proposition 64 to legalize marijuana.

Police officers oversee a crime scene near Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in Los Angeles in 2015. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

12/5/2017 Crime rates down in California, up in L.A. County, during period of criminal justice reform - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-crime-trend-study-20171204-story.html 2/3

Both advocates of reform and law enforcement have used the sweeping statewide policies and anecdotes to

argue that crime has increased or decreased, according to the study’s author, Mike Males.

But the report, which analyzed offenses reported by law enforcement agencies, found — especially in Los

Angeles County — wide disparities in local crime trends.

“We decided to look at the issue comprehensively,” Males said. “The reforms are probably not the reason crime

has changed for better or worse for individual cities.”

In L.A. County, crime rates rose by 5%, with a 4% increase in property crimes and an 8% increase in violent

crimes during the period. Across the rest of California, property crime fell by 6% and violent crime fell by 2%.

Males said L.A. County’s divergence from the statewide trend is mainly because of its size as well as a sharp

increase (60%) in assaults in the city of L.A. Males speculated that because assaults are connected to domestic

violence, the rise could be related to an initiative to increase reporting of that crime.

Overall, violent crime in the city of L.A. increased 27%, even though there was a decrease in burglary and

homicide, according to the report.

About half of L.A. County’s 89 jurisdictions showed an increase in crime and the other half showed a decrease.

For instance, in Artesia, the total crime rate rose 112%, while in Avalon there was a 52% decline in total crime.

Males says the variation in crime patterns resulted from local policies and practices rather than statewide

justice reform.

Cities that showed increases in crime rates include Burbank (6.1%), Lancaster (5.7%), Long Beach (14.5%) and

Torrance (9.2%).

"The key to safe neighborhoods is a partnership between police and community," said Lt. Jason Clawson, public

information officer with the Pasadena Police Department. In Pasadena, the overall crime rate fell 18.2%,

according to the study.

Clawson said that a number of outreach initiatives, including a community policing program, citizen police

academies and other steps such as increasing lighting in an area or redesigning a bathroom, are ways Pasadena

police have worked to reduce crime.

Other cities showing crime decreases include Downey (15.5%), Glendale (12.3%), Inglewood (10.8%), Monrovia

(25.4%), Palmdale (20.8%) and Santa Clarita (9.4%).

Charis Kubrin, a professor of criminology, law and society at UC Irvine, studied the impact of California’s Public

Safety Realignment bill, signed into law in 2011 by Gov. Jerry Brown and designed to address state prison

overcrowding by diverting low-level offenders to county jails or probation. She and other researchers found that

releasing such offenders back onto the streets had a very small effect on crime in California.

12/5/2017 Crime rates down in California, up in L.A. County, during period of criminal justice reform - LA Times

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“These criminal justice reform policies didn’t seem to have much of an impact,” Kubrin said. “The action, if you

will, is at the local level.”

makeda.easter@latimes.com

@makedaeaster

Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times

This article is related to: Theft

12/5/2017 L.A. asked for $3 million for community policing. The DOJ said no. Some fear it's a sign of what's ahead. - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-funding-20171205-story.html 1/4

I

L.A. asked for $3 million for community policing.The DOJ said no. Some fear it's a sign of what'sahead.

By Kate Mather

DECEMBER 5, 2017, 5:00 AM

n 2015, a community policing initiative — one credited with helping curb violence in some of L.A.’s

toughest housing projects — scored the Los Angeles Police Department high-level praise.

A captain and a sergeant who led the program were invited to Washington, D.C., earning coveted seats

near the first lady during President Obama’s State of the Union address.

This year, L.A. officials applied for more than $3 million in federal funding to help bring the same program to

Harvard Park, a South L.A. neighborhood scarred by violence.

The request was denied.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck speak to reporters at a 2016 news conference. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

12/5/2017 L.A. asked for $3 million for community policing. The DOJ said no. Some fear it's a sign of what's ahead. - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-funding-20171205-story.html 2/4

The U.S. Department of Justice hasn’t said why the LAPD didn’t receive any of the $98 million in grants

recently awarded to scores of law enforcement agencies across the nation. Justice officials didn’t offer the LAPD

an explanation, and a spokesman for the federal agency declined to comment when asked by The Times last

week.

But after the Trump administration’s repeated threats to withhold federal money from cities that don’t

cooperate with its immigration crackdown, some LAPD officials said they believe the move was retaliatory —

and a troubling sign of what could come.

Steve Soboroff, president of the civilian Police Commission that oversees the LAPD, said that he believes the

Justice Department denied the funding request because of the LAPD’s well-publicized, hands-off approach to

immigration enforcement. Soboroff said he worries future funding may also be at risk.

“Community policing is what policing’s all about. Militaristic policing, immigrant harassment is not,” he said.

“By ignoring that, or prioritizing it beneath their issue of sanctuary cities and cooperation with ICE

[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] — the priorities are wrong.”

“If this is the tip of the iceberg, we’re going to set back law enforcement and policing and public safety by

decades,” he added.

In announcing the grant awards last month, the Justice Department noted that 80% of the agencies that

received funds earned extra points during their reviews “based on their certifications of willingness to cooperate

with federal immigration authorities.”

L.A. did not sign that certification, LAPD officials said.

The decision to tie federal funding to immigration enforcement has already prompted a flurry of coast-to-coast

legal challenges, including those filed by L.A.’s city attorney and California’s attorney general.

The lawsuits have largely focused on two grants awarded by the Justice Department: one administered through

Community Oriented Policing Services office, which the LAPD was just denied; and a second, the Edward Byrne

Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, which has brought L.A. more than $1 million during each of the last few

fiscal years.

“If this is the tip of the iceberg, we’re going to set

back law enforcement and policing and publicsafety by decades.

— L.A. Police Commission President Steve Soboroff

12/5/2017 L.A. asked for $3 million for community policing. The DOJ said no. Some fear it's a sign of what's ahead. - LA Times

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Opponents allege the executive branch is overstepping its constitutional authority by attaching new rules to the

grants without congressional approval. They also contend that cities are safer when immigrants are willing to

talk to local police without fear of deportation.

City. Atty. Mike Feuer, who filed a lawsuit this fall, said putting civil immigration enforcement requirements on

grants designed to improve community policing was “ironic — and at worst, very dangerous.”

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure our city is as safe as possible and not let this undermine

public safety,” he said.

There are already signs that federal officials may question more L.A. funding. Last month, the Justice

Department sent a letter to the city saying it was “concerned” that some of the LAPD’s immigration practices

violated new terms of the Byrne grant.

A spokesman for Mayor Eric Garcetti said that because the city had not received details about the Justice

Department’s reasoning, he could not speculate as to why the $3.1-million request for Harvard Park was denied.

“Keeping Angelenos safe is Mayor Garcetti’s top priority, and these grants provide essential support to

programs that help us reduce violence in communities across our city,” spokesman Alex Comisar wrote in an

email. “The Mayor is disappointed that the City was denied federal funding for such an important community

partnership.”

The LAPD has long distanced itself from federal immigration policies. The department prohibits officers from

initiating contact solely to determine if someone is in the country legally. In recent years, the LAPD stopped

turning over people arrested for low-level crimes to federal agents for deportation and moved away from

honoring federal requests to detain inmates who might be deportable past their jail terms.

Arif Alikhan, the director of the LAPD’s Office of Constitutional Policing and Policy, stressed that the

department has always followed the law with its immigration procedures. The LAPD, he added, was also

disappointed in the Justice Department’s decision to withhold the grant money.

“If that was a factor in it — that we were not proactively working to enforce civil immigration law — that would

be unfortunate,” he said.

The LAPD planned to use the $3.1-million grant to hire 25 officers as it expanded a community policing

program into Harvard Park, one of the city’s deadliest neighborhoods. The roughly half-mile area saw eight

homicides in 2016, nearly triple the number from the year before. So far this year, six people have been killed.

Officers assigned the LAPD’s Community Safety Partnership program focus on getting to know residents

instead of making arrests. They coach sports teams and lead mentoring programs. The goal, department

officials say, is to foster a real relationship between the police and the community — one where officers and

residents know each other by name and work together to make the neighborhood safer.

12/5/2017 L.A. asked for $3 million for community policing. The DOJ said no. Some fear it's a sign of what's ahead. - LA Times

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Officials often credit the program for a three-year stretch without a homicide in Jordan Downs, a housing

development in Watts.

Commissioner Cynthia McClain-Hill said she was “curious — to say the least — about what program could have

been more deserving.”

According to LAPD data, it was the eighth time since 1998 that the agency applied for a hiring grant from the

Community Oriented Policing Services office. Last year, the LAPD received $3.1 million. In 2012, it got $6.4

million.

The LAPD has been rejected only once before, in 2011.

Despite the Justice Department’s decision this time around — and questions about why it was made — McClain-

Hill noted the LAPD’s stance on immigration enforcement had strong support from the Police Commission and

City Hall.

“We can’t be concerned about the impact of that position,” she said. “I think the question is how we move

forward without the federal government.”

kate.mather@latimes.com

Twitter: @katemather

Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times

This article is related to: Immigration, Los Angeles Police Department, U.S. Department of Justice, Eric Garcetti, U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement

“I think the question is how we move forward

without the federal government.— Police Commissioner Cynthia McClain-Hill

12/5/2017 L.A. lawmakers are close to setting ground rules for marijuana industry - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-marijuana-rules-20171204-story.html 1/2

L

L.A. lawmakers are close to setting ground rulesfor marijuana industry

By Emily Alpert Reyes

DECEMBER 4, 2017, 6:30 PM

os Angeles lawmakers took another step Monday toward imposing regulations that would limit where

and how marijuana businesses can operate as California legalizes the sale of recreational pot.

The elaborate regulations, which have been repeatedly tweaked at a string of city hearings, lay out the

ground rules for what is expected to be one of the hottest marijuana markets in the country.

“You don’t have a lot of opportunities to make history — and that’s what we’re doing here,” City Council

President Herb Wesson said as a committee of lawmakers backed the proposed rules.

The City Council is slated to vote on the regulations Wednesday.

Under the proposed rules, pot shops would be restricted to specific commercial and industrial zones, and be

barred from opening within 700 feet of schools, public parks and areas zoned as open space, public libraries,

daycare centers, alcohol and drug treatment facilities, and permanent supportive housing, as well as from other

marijuana retailers.

Other marijuana businesses — including growers and manufacturers — would be limited to industrial zones and

prohibited within 600 feet of schools. And marijuana manufacturers that use volatile solvents would be barred

from within 200 feet of residential areas.

L.A. will also cap the maximum number of marijuana shops, manufacturers and other kind of cannabis

business allowed in each community area based on population ratios. Because the complicated rules have been

repeatedly adjusted, planning officials have yet to provide estimates of the total number of marijuana

businesses that could eventually open.

The proposed rules also set out how marijuana businesses will be inspected, impose requirements for security

and video surveillance, and prohibit marijuana or alcohol consumption on site, among many other restrictions.

Existing marijuana shops that have been operating under an earlier set of city restrictions, Proposition D, will

be first in line for city licensing. Pot growers and manufacturers that have been supplying those shops and meet

other requirements can, in turn, get “temporary approval” while they are applying for city licenses.

12/5/2017 L.A. lawmakers are close to setting ground rules for marijuana industry - LA Times

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Los Angeles is also pressing forward with a program that would provide extra assistance to would-be marijuana

entrepreneurs whose communities were hit hardest by the war on drugs. Under the “social equity” program, the

city would help poor people who were previously convicted of some marijuana crimes or have lived in areas that

were heavily affected by cannabis arrests.

Eligible business applicants would get priority processing and other assistance as they pursue city licenses. For

every license the city hands out to a regular marijuana retailer, it plans to give out two licenses to “social equity”

participants; for every license it hands out to other kinds of marijuana businesses, it will hand out one to a

“social equity” applicant, according to the proposed rules.

But the city would prohibit people who committed violent crimes and other serious offenses from getting

marijuana licenses for a decade after their convictions, and bar other classes of convicts, including people who

distributed marijuana to minors, for five years after their conviction dates.

The city could also deny marijuana licenses to felons whose crimes involved illegal drugs other than marijuana,

but lawmakers decided Monday to let city staffers and a newly formed commission decide whether such

applicants should be barred on a case-by-case basis. Activists who advocate for the formerly incarcerated had

argued that it would be unfair to block them.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlpertReyes

Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times

12/5/2017 Climate scientists see alarming new threat to California - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-climate-california-20171205-htmlstory.html 1/5

Climate scientists see alarming new threat toCalifornia

By Evan Halper

DECEMBER 5, 2017, 3:00 AM | REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON

C alifornia could be hit with significantly more dangerous and morefrequent droughts in the near future as changes in weather patternstriggered by global warming block rainfall from reaching the state,according to new research led by scientists at Lawrence Livermore

National Laboratory.

Using complex new modeling, the scientists have found that rapidly meltingArctic sea ice now threatens to diminish precipitation over California by as muchas 15% within 20 to 30 years. Such a change would have profound economicimpacts in a state where the most recent drought drained several billion dollarsout of the economy, severely stressed infrastructure and highlighted how even thestate most proactively confronting global warming is not prepared for its fallout.

The latest study adds a worrying dimension to the challenge California is alreadyfacing in adapting to climate change, and shifts focus to melting polar ice thatonly recently has been discovered to have such a direct, potentially dramaticimpact on the West Coast. While climate scientists generally agree that theincreased temperatures already resulting from climate change have seriouslyexacerbated drought in California, there has been debate over whether globalwarming would affect the amount of precipitation that comes to California.

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, providescompelling evidence that it would. The model the scientists used homed in on thelink between the disappearance of sea ice in the Arctic and the buildup of highridges of atmospheric pressure over the Pacific Ocean. Those ridges push winterstorms away from the state, causing drought.

The scientists found that as the sea ice goes away, there is an increase in theformation of ridges.

12/5/2017 Climate scientists see alarming new threat to California - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-climate-california-20171205-htmlstory.html 2/5

12/5/2017 Climate scientists see alarming new threat to California - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-climate-california-20171205-htmlstory.html 3/5

“Our design was aimed at looking at what will happen in 20 to 30 years, when theArctic becomes ice-free in the summer,” said Ivana Cvijanovic, the lead climatescientist on the study. “It is coming soon. We want to understand what the impactwould be. … The similarities between what will happen and [how weatherpatterns caused] the most recent drought are really striking.”

Rainfall in California would drop, on average, 10% to 15% in the coming decadesunder Cvijanovic’s model, but the decline would present itself sporadically,exacerbating the potential for drought. Some years the decline in rainfall becauseof diminished Arctic ice would be much steeper than 15%. Other years would bewetter than they otherwise would be.

The study is yet another by federally funded researchers that finds the failure tomore rapidly diminish greenhouse gas emissions could have a serious impact onCalifornia and other parts of the country. The findings contrast starkly withTrump administration policy on warming, which ignores the mainstreamscientific consensus that human activity is driving it. The administration has beenworking aggressively to unravel Obama-era action on climate change,withdrawing from the Paris agreement that seeks to limit its impact, dismantlingrestrictions on power plant emissions, and signaling that it will relax vehiclemileage rules that are a critical component to addressing global warming.

The warnings about the impact of melting sea ice on California are beingembraced by some prominent climate scientists. They say that while the study isjust one of multiple models being used to project global warming impacts, it isbolstered by other studies that have signaled a connection between the ice melt inthe Arctic and the buildup of atmospheric ridges affecting California. MichaelMann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania StateUniversity, said in an email that it paints a sobering picture for the state.

(Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Google Earth)

12/5/2017 Climate scientists see alarming new threat to California - LA Times

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“As we learn more about the subtleties in the dynamics of climate change, we arelearning that certain climate change impacts, like California drought, may be farworse than we had previously thought,” Mann wrote. “It also means that, when itcomes to water resource issues in California, the impacts of climate change mayexceed our adaptive capacity. That leaves only mitigation — doing somethingabout climate change — as a viable strategy moving forward.”

Gov. Jerry Brown has been taking a lead globally in confronting climate change,warning the Trump administration’s approach is reckless and defies science. Hetraveled last month to a United Nations climate conference in Bonn, Germany, tomeet with world leaders and send the signal that much of the nation is moving toact on climate change, even if President Trump is not. Brown is helping lead acoalition of state and local governments that is vowing to reduce emissionsenough to meet the entire country’s obligation under the Paris agreement, whichPresident Obama signed last year.

But the Trump administration’s retreat threatens to substantially slow the rate atwhich U.S. climate emissions decline. And even if all commitments made in theParis agreement are kept, climate scientists say the Arctic ice situation would stillbe dire.

“This is happening very quickly,” said Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate scientist atStanford University. “The change is dramatic, and it is taking place faster thanhad been projected by climate models.”

Diffenbaugh said the study is a breakthrough for climate researchers who havebeen struggling to pinpoint the impacts of melting Arctic ice. “Being able toisolate the effect of melting sea ice on the atmosphere and the ocean’s response —and how it impacts precipitation in California — that is a big step forward,” hesaid.

Because the model only projects future impacts, the study does not focus on therole melting Arctic ice may have played in the massive drought from whichCalifornia recently emerged — the most severe in 1,200 years, according to onescientific study. But the atmospheric patterns leading to that drought had all thecharacteristics of those that can be triggered by Arctic sea ice melt, Cvijanovic

12/5/2017 Climate scientists see alarming new threat to California - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-climate-california-20171205-htmlstory.html 5/5

Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times

said, raising the prospect that California might have dodged the latest drought —or at least not have been hit as hard — if not for the large amount of ice that hasalready vanished.

“There is lots of research to be done,” she said. “Hopefully we do it in time toallow people to plan for whatever may be coming.”

To read the article in Spanish, click here

evan.halper@latimes.com

Twitter: @evanhalper

12/5/2017 Drought and bugs have killed tens of thousands of trees in the Santa Monica Mountains - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-santa-monica-mountains-trees20171205-story.html 1/3

W

Drought and bugs have killed tens of thousands oftrees in the Santa Monica Mountains

By Louis Sahagun

DECEMBER 5, 2017, 7:00 AM

hen biologist Rosi Dagit wants to give people a glimpse of the urgency of the problem afflicting

trees in the Santa Monica Mountains, she takes them to a withering oasis in Topanga Canyon

where hundreds of sycamores, alders and willows are dead and dying.

Just six years ago, the creek offered all the arboreal comforts needed for frogs, newts and protected fish such

Arroyo chubs and steelhead trout to avoid extinction: leafy canopies to control water temperature and prevent

algae blooms, and willows buzzing with insects for nourishment.

Now, streamside trees weakened by drought are being ravaged by fungal diseases and swarms of insects the size

of sesame seeds — imperiling not only the lush canopy but all the creatures that live in the stream.

Rosi Dagit, a senior conservation biologist with the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, measures the diameterof a dying alder tree during a tour of Topanga Creek. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

12/5/2017 Drought and bugs have killed tens of thousands of trees in the Santa Monica Mountains - LA Times

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During a tour on Friday, Dagit saw damage almost everywhere she looked. Willows had lost their leaves from a

fungal pathogen that coated their boughs with a crusty white residue. Sycamores and alders were splotched

with half-dollar-size lesions caused by tiny beetles. Native shrubs were giving way to weeds.

On a 150-foot stretch of creek lined with 78 trees, Dagit counted only 15 still alive.

“The ecological consequences of losing all these trees are profound and, on a personal level, so sad,” said Dagit,

a senior biologist for the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains.

New surveys of the 154,000-acre Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area conducted by remote

sensing instruments on NASA aircraft and teams on the ground revealed a loss of about 9,100 — or 6% — of

coast live oaks, and 114,000 — or 32% — of riparian trees including sycamores, alders and willows during five

years of severe drought that ended in 2017. About 38% of the area’s chaparral also died, NASA scientists said.

Ripple effects on the environment may already be underway. For example, mayflies, which float on the surface

and are an easily accessible food for fish and frogs, have been replaced by tiny chironomid midges, which spend

much of their lives hiding in sunken leaves. Whether Topanga Canyon’s fish and frogs adapt to the shift remains

to be seen, scientists say.

Dying trees and shrubs have exacerbated the plight of Western pond turtles, California’s only native freshwater

turtle. “The roughly 200 pond turtles left in the Santa Monicas eat and reproduce in water, and spend much of

their lives hunkered down in chaparral and leaf litter,” Dagit said. “With fewer places for them to hide from

predators like raccoons and ravens, we’re finding more and more pond turtles with their eyes pecked out and

missing legs.”

“We’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out,” Dagit said, shaking her head. “But I never thought I’d be

witnessing the possible extinction of so many plants and animals in this area.”

The magnitude of the devastation hit home as researchers including Dagit and a small army of volunteers began

studying the results of the surveys of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area’s matrix of public

and private lands.

A summary of those findings will be presented Tuesday night at the Topanga Library in Topanga.

The data, which also came from the catch basins of more than 46 traps baited with chemical lures to attract

insect pests, indicated that the hardest-hit areas were riparian zones where trees help control the environment

of the canyon bottoms, creek flows and ponds they overhang and surround.

The native trees of the Santa Monica Mountains adapted over thousands of years to prolonged dry periods of

drought. But aerial surveys using instruments designed to measure infrared radiation levels emitted by living

and dead vegetation determined that the scale of the tree die-off was unprecedented in modern history,

scientists said.

12/5/2017 Drought and bugs have killed tens of thousands of trees in the Santa Monica Mountains - LA Times

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In addition, tree mortality rates were highest in areas that had the most number of days with temperatures

exceeding 95 degrees, and the least number of days with rainfall.

Those conditions lowered water tables in canyon lands and deprived waterways such as Topanga Creek and

Malibu Creek in the southern portions of the Santa Monica Mountains of historic flows, Natasha Stavros, an

applied science systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said.

“Good rains like we had last year will not be enough to recover many of the losses we’ve seen,” Stavros said.

“That’s because trees that have struggled through five years of drought depleted their natural defenses and

resources, inviting fatal infestations of bugs and disease.”

Still, Dagit found reason for hope in a clump of green willow saplings pushing up through the creek’s muddy

banks, about 30 feet from a water level gauge installed in the 1930s that was left high and dry in 2011 by

diminished flows.

“Fish need trees,” Dagit said.

Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com

@LouisSahagun

Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times

This article is related to: Endangered Species, Environmental Science, NASA

12/5/2017 Study finds L.A. County saves money by housing sick homeless people - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-housing-study-20171201-htmlstory.html 1/3

Study finds L.A. County saves money by housingsick homeless people

By Gale Holland

DECEMBER 4, 2017, 9:05 PM

Los Angeles County’s marquee program to provide housing for very sick homelesspeople saved taxpayers thousands of dollars by reducing hospitalizations andemergency room visits, a three-year Rand Corp. study released Monday found.

Considered a national model, Housing for Health uses county and federal money tosubsidize rents and intensive case management for acutely ill homeless people.

Rand, a Santa-Monica-based research group, found that the medical savings more thanoffset the cost of housing. For every $1 invested in the program, county government wasspared $1.20 in healthcare and social service costs, the study said.

Participants improved their mental health, and 96% remained in housing for more thana year, the study found.

“Oftentimes, these programs strive to ‘break even’ in terms of costs and only exhibit costsavings among the most vulnerable, while the Los Angeles program shows considerablesavings across a diverse population,” said Sarah Hunter, a senior behavioral scientistand lead author of the study.

The $70-million-a-year program began on skid row in 2012, and has fanned out acrossthe county, with 20-30 outreach and street medicine teams up and running, and 50planned, Marc Trotz, the director, said.

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Over the past five years, the effort has moved 3,400 homeless people into apartmentsand housing projects. Clients are also placed in recuperative care centers and temporary“bridge” housing on their way to permanent housing.

Under a “Housing First” approach, the program does not make participants go throughdrug or mental health treatment to get help. The goal this coming year is to get 2,500people off the streets.

“It’s ramping up to where it would need to be to make a visible and meaningful dent onthe streets,” Trotz said. “Are we there yet? No, but the county is getting more peoplehousing than ever before.”

The study examined county costs for public hospitalizations, jail stays, emergency roomvisits and welfare for 809 formerly homeless participants before and after they foundhousing.

There were no incarceration savings because residents stayed in jail longer, the studyfound. Hunter said the researchers don’t know if the program cut down on privatehospital visits because they didn’t have the data.

Marc Trotz is the director of Housing for Health, a program that subsidizes permanent housing for the homeless people whofrequently use county health services. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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The study also found that housing did not resolve all of the residents’ mental health andmedical issues, suggesting that the county might need to provide long-term services andrent subsidies to keep people off the streets.

gholland@latimes.com

Twitter: @geholland