latimes--2020-08-24--Gascón campaign accuses D.A. Lacey of flouting election law, but election experts disagree

In the latest round of sniping in a bitter battle to decide Los Angeles County ’ s top prosecutor , George Gascón accused Dist .
Atty .
Jackie Lacey of violating election laws Monday , a claim met with skepticism by legal experts .
In a letter to the district attorney ’ s office , Gascón ’ s campaign alleged Lacey violated state criminal law and an election code by using public resources and displaying the L.A. County seal in campaign communications .
Gascón ’ s campaign alleged the violations occurred as Lacey appeared on TV to debut an advertisement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events later that month , including one where she sought an endorsement .
In each instance , Lacey appears in front of a banner that displays the county seal and insignia of the district attorney ’ s office .
Gascón , a former district attorney in San Francisco who positions himself as a progressive , will face Lacey in a November contest that has become a national referendum on criminal justice reform .
Max Szabo , Gascón ’ s chief spokesman , who authored the letter , alleged the images were filmed at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign purposes , which he argued would violate laws governing the use of public resources during campaigns .
“ District Attorney Jackie Lacey , a candidate for public office , has repeatedly , improperly and illegally campaigned either from a government office or with the use of taxpayer-funded equipment at home , ” Szabo wrote .
“ Additionally , her use of an official county seal in her campaign appearances gives the impression of an official action or the validation of approval and support by the County .
That has the affect of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election.
” Lacey ’ s campaign coordinator , Walter Koch , said in each case Lacey was in her living room .
She was simply using pictures from her office as a background on Zoom , the popular video-chat program that has become ubiquitous during the coronavirus pandemic .
“ Does George Gascón have anything better to do than complain about a Zoom background ?
D.A .
Lacey is busy doing the people ’ s work during this time of crisis , ” Koch said in a statement .
The California election code @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail and documents , not television appearances or video chats such as the incidents Gascón ’ s campaign referred to in the letter .
Two election law experts also dismissed the Gascón campaign ’ s complaints as dubious .
Bob Stern , who authored the state ’ s Political Reform Act , noted the Government Code cited in the Gascón campaign ’ s letter defines the use of a public resource as “ substantial enough to result in a gain or advantage to the user ” that would also need to have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unlikely a brief appearance in an office or the use of a phone line would meet that standard .
Rick Hasen , a professor of law and political science at UC Irvine , said even if Gascón ’ s campaign could prove Lacey was in her office at the time of the interviews or campaign appearances , it might not meet the threshold of a violation .
“ Based on the context from the letter , these seem to be relatively minor infractions , if they ’ re infractions at all , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokesman for the district attorney ’ s office , confirmed the letter had been received .
He declined to comment on what action , if any , the office would take .

In the latest round of sniping in a bitter battle to decide Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor, George Gascón accused Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey of violating election laws Monday, a claim met with skepticism by legal experts.
In a letter to the district attorney’s office, Gascón’s campaign alleged Lacey violated state criminal law and an election code by using public resources and displaying the L.A. County seal in campaign communications. Gascón’s campaign alleged the violations occurred as Lacey appeared on TV to debut an advertisement critical of Gascón and during two campaign events later that month, including one where she sought an endorsement.
In each instance, Lacey appears in front of a banner that displays the county seal and insignia of the district attorney’s office. Gascón, a former district attorney in San Francisco who positions himself as a progressive, will face Lacey in a November contest that has become a national referendum on criminal justice reform.
California How Jackie Lacey’s and George Gascón’s time in office shapes the L.A. County D.A.’s race Jackie Lacey and George Gascón combine for more than 60 years of experience in law enforcement, yet their visions to run the nation’s largest local prosecutor’s office couldn’t be more different. The Times reviewed crime data, filing rates and other metrics to compare their respective terms in Los Angeles and San Francisco
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Max Szabo, Gascón’s chief spokesman, who authored the letter, alleged the images were filmed at Lacey’s office and used for campaign purposes, which he argued would violate laws governing the use of public resources during campaigns.
“District Attorney Jackie Lacey, a candidate for public office, has repeatedly, improperly and illegally campaigned either from a government office or with the use of taxpayer-funded equipment at home,” Szabo wrote. “Additionally, her use of an official county seal in her campaign appearances gives the impression of an official action or the validation of approval and support by the County. That has the affect of undermining the integrity of this very important election.”
Lacey’s campaign coordinator, Walter Koch, said in each case Lacey was in her living room. She was simply using pictures from her office as a background on Zoom, the popular video-chat program that has become ubiquitous during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Does George Gascón have anything better to do than complain about a Zoom background? D.A. Lacey is busy doing the people’s work during this time of crisis,” Koch said in a statement.
The California election code that Szabo cited only refers to campaign mail and documents, not television appearances or video chats such as the incidents Gascón’s campaign referred to in the letter. Two election law experts also dismissed the Gascón campaign’s complaints as dubious.
Bob Stern, who authored the state’s Political Reform Act, noted the Government Code cited in the Gascón campaign’s letter defines the use of a public resource as “substantial enough to result in a gain or advantage to the user” that would also need to have a monetary value. Stern said it was unlikely a brief appearance in an office or the use of a phone line would meet that standard.
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Rick Hasen, a professor of law and political science at UC Irvine, said even if Gascón’s campaign could prove Lacey was in her office at the time of the interviews or campaign appearances, it might not meet the threshold of a violation.
“Based on the context from the letter, these seem to be relatively minor infractions, if they’re infractions at all,” Hansen said.
Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, confirmed the letter had been received. He declined to comment on what action, if any, the office would take.


latimes--2020-08-24--Northern California fires rage on: 'We are essentially living in a mega fire era'

As two of the three largest fires in California history burned near the eastern edge of San Jose and in wine country north of San Francisco Bay , firefighters saw a welcome respite in dangerous fire weather with the cancellation of a red-flag warning for the Bay Area .
Forecasters , however , continued to warn about dry lightning in the Sacramento Valley ’ s foothills and mountains through Monday evening .
Red-flag warnings — which indicate that dangerous fire weather conditions are expected — were also in effect for parts of the North Coast , northeast California and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ National Weather Service initially issued warnings covering large swaths of Northern and Central California through Monday afternoon .
With firefighters already responding to more than two dozen major fires , it was feared the storms could ignite even more blazes and cause existing ones to spread more rapidly , pushing crews into a triage situation .
The red-flag warning covering the Bay Area and northern Central Coast was canceled shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday .
The local National Weather Service office said that “ weak cells are still over the North Bay ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our area and instability has decreased , giving us confidence to let the warning expire early.
” Firefighters were able to use a brief respite in the wind over the weekend to build containment lines .
Crews battling the CZU Lightning Complex fire in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties got some additional help from Mother Nature in the form of rain showers Sunday evening .
“ The weather hasn ’ t been as significant as we were expecting , which is good , ” Mark Brunton , operations chief for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said at a briefing Monday morning .
“ And that has given us an opportunity for our crews to make a lot of great progress throughout this fire.
” The sheer magnitude of what has already burned is sobering : about 1.4 million acres this month alone , with four more months of potential fire season to go .
Only 2018 saw more land scorched in California — over an entire year .
“ I ’ m essentially at a loss for words to describe the scope of the lightning-sparked fire outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — even in the context of the extraordinary fires of recent years , ” wrote Daniel Swain , a climate scientist at UCLA , in a blog post .
“ It ’ s truly astonishing.
” Jake Hess , a Cal Fire unit chief , said at a news conference for the SCU Lightning Complex fire — now California ’ s second-largest blaze in history at more than 360,000 acres — that the state has entered a period of mega fires .
“ We are essentially living in a mega fire era , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ folks who have been working for Cal Fire for the last five years , and that is all they understand , mega fires , since they started.
” On Saturday , Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced that the White House had approved California ’ s request for a presidential major disaster declaration to bolster the state ’ s emergency response to the wildfires .
Across California , “ over 14,000 firefighters are on the front lines of more than two dozen major fires and lightning complexes , ” or groups of fires , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officer , said at a Sunday media briefing .
There have been more than 13,000 lightning strikes statewide since Aug. 15 , he added on Monday , and “ an astonishing 2,700 more wildfires have occurred this year than last.
” During a media briefing Monday afternoon , Newsom said that there had been at least 289 lightning strikes statewide over the last 24 hours , and that 10 new fires had broken out .
“ The good news is the lightning did spare the coast , where a lot of the fires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mead , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service , said Monday in a Cal Fire video update .
“ The bad news is we did have more lightning strikes in the inland region along the Sierra Crest.
” Crews are currently battling 625 fires throughout the state , according to Newsom .
So far this year , firefighters have responded to 7,002 fires that have scorched a combined 1.4 million acres , the governor said .
By this same time last year , there had been 4,292 fires that had consumed about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so far in this year ’ s fires , including five — three in Napa County and two in Solano County — as a result of the LNU Lightning Complex fire , and one in the CZU Lightning Complex fire .
The death toll also includes a pilot who died in a helicopter crash in Fresno County while on a water-dropping mission for the Hills fire .
Newsom called this week critical “ as it relates to addressing and suppressing these wildfires ” and said the state is “ deploying every resource at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volunteer fire-fighting units have stepped in as well .
The state ’ s commitment includes more than 2,400 fire engines , he said .
More have been pledged from other agencies both in and out of California — including 91 from Arizona , Idaho , New Mexico , Texas , Oregon , Utah and Washington .
The LNU Lightning Complex fire , at more than 351,000 acres , is the second-largest fire in California history .
With slightly less acreage burned — over 347,000 acres — the SCU Lightning Complex fire is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Thomas fire , which at 281,893 acres shattered the records just three years ago .
“ To have both of those going on at the same time ... gives us the magnitude of what has happened here in this state , ” Sean Kavanaugh , incident commander on the LNU fire , said Sunday .
As of Monday evening , the LNU fire complex , which was burning in Napa , Sonoma , Lake , Solano , Yolo and Colusa counties , had destroyed 908 homes and other buildings and was 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complexity of this fire is not one that we ’ ve seen in times past , ” Cal Fire Unit Chief Shana Jones said during a briefing Monday , adding that “ everyone on the line is extremely tired but working so incredibly hard.
” The SCU Lightning Complex fire , which spans seven counties , began as a collection of about 20 blazes in areas of Contra Costa , Alameda , Santa Clara , Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties and by Sunday had merged into two conflagrations .
The fires , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night , were burning primarily through grass and brush in steep , remote areas that hadn ’ t burned in years .
“ There ’ s a lot of dead fuel up there , ” said Barbara Rebiskie , public information officer on the SCU fire .
“ And the erratic winds , the 7 % humidities and the lightning — it ’ s not a good combination.
” As of Monday afternoon , more than 20,000 homes and commercial buildings were threatened and 5 structures were confirmed destroyed .
Investigators are looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also been demolished by the blaze .
A new evacuation order was issued at 3 a.m. Sunday for parts of Alameda County .
In the hours that followed , a public information center was flooded with so many phone calls that it crashed .
On Monday , officials reduced an evacuation order to a warning in parts of Stanislaus county .
Although firefighting resources have been pouring into the region in recent days , officials say it ’ s simply not enough .
In some places , officials said that they were being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to beg for equipment and manpower from volunteers and local agencies .
On Sunday afternoon , forecasters were concerned with an area of moisture with the potential to generate thunderstorms that was just off Central California and moving toward the Monterey area .
Bay Area forecasters said Monday , however , that most of the moisture had moved to the north , spurring the cancellation of a red-flag warning there as well as along the northern Central Coast .
Since late July , more than 1,200 homes , commercial buildings and other structures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with nearly all of that destruction occurring after Aug. 15 , which marked the start of what officials are calling a “ lightning siege.
” The CZU Lightning Complex fire was threatening multiple communities and had forced 77,000 people from their homes .
The blaze began as a collection of about 22 fires that largely merged into one , challenging firefighters as they tried to keep the flames away from the towns dotting the rural , mountainous area .
The fire had consumed more than 78,000 acres and was 13 % contained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about 25,000 structures and had destroyed 276 .
Ian Larkin , a unit chief for Cal Fire ’ s San Mateo Santa Cruz Unit , said that the aircraft attack was better Monday .
“ We ’ re making progress thanks to the increase in personnel , and better weather , but we ’ ll be here awhile , ” he said .
Newsom called the CZU Lightning Complex a “ proof point that we are in a different climate ” as it ’ s burning in areas “ that have simply never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the like.
” “ We are dealing with different climate conditions that are precipitating in fires the likes of which we haven ’ t seen in modern recorded history — in dense forests that are well-covered and have been historically immune from significant fires along our coast , ” he said .
The body of a 70-year-old man was recovered in the fire area over the weekend , according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff ’ s Chief Deputy Chris Clark .
Clark said the man ’ s body was found “ some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be his vehicle at the end of Last Chance Road — deep in the mountains northwest of the community of Davenport in Santa Cruz County .
Last Chance Road was so damaged that it was impassable , and rescuers needed a helicopter to recover the man ’ s body .
Clark said it looked as though he was “ likely leaving the fire.
” “ This is the darkest day of this fire so far , ” he told reporters Sunday .
Authorities were also searching Monday for four people who had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were taking advantage of fairly calm winds to attack the fire on the ground as much as possible as they scrambled to make progress ahead of the expected storm , said Daniel Potter , a Cal Fire public information officer .
“ We ’ re going to get as much accomplished as we can before the front hits us , ” he said .
“ And then adapt and overcome any new fires that may start in the area due to the lightning coming through.
” Crews worked over the weekend to establish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city of Santa Cruz and the campus of UC Santa Cruz in a bid to keep the blaze from damaging the community if it made a run in that direction .
As of Monday morning , Clark said there was “ no imminent fire danger ” to Santa Cruz .
Officials were asking people to stay out of evacuation zones to avoid hazards , including fire and downed trees and wires , and to keep roads open for emergency vehicles .
“ It is highly dangerous in there still .
There are trees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , old-growth timber that is coming across the roadway and we have infrastructure that needs repair , ” Jonathan Cox , a deputy chief with Cal Fire , said Monday .
“ We have bridges that have failed ... .
It is not safe.
” They also warned about criminals taking advantage of the crisis .
Authorities on Saturday morning arrested five people on suspicion of grand theft , burglary and conspiracy after they were stopped driving away from the Fall Creek Drive area , the Santa Cruz County Sheriff ’ s Office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department vehicle of a firefighting commander while he was out battling the blaze , stole his wallet and drained his bank account , Brunton said at a briefing Sunday .
“ It ’ s saddening , it ’ s sickening , ” Brunton said .
“ We are doing everything we can to try to help the community , and unfortunately these [ things ] happen.
” Meanwhile , officials continued to beg tourists to stay away .
The Santa Cruz County Emergency Operations Center said it was requesting that visitors refrain from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to keep overnight accommodations available for evacuees .
More than 45,000 Santa Cruz County residents have been displaced by the fires , and though the county is operating 12 shelters , capacity is limited because of COVID-19 , officials said .
Many hotels , motels and vacation rentals are also booked .
“ DO NOT visit us now , ” the county said in a tweet .
“ Air quality is poor , ash is everywhere , and we ’ re dealing with an unparalleled catastrophe .
This is no time for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closely clustered crowds heighten the risk of spreading the coronavirus , Newsom said many evacuees were not being directed to typical congregate settings .
Out of 2,211 sheltered evacuees , 1,480 are staying in hotels , he said .
The state also has implemented additional safety protocols for shelters , including conducting health screenings and assessments prior to entry , requiring masks , installing air purifiers and practicing social distancing .
“ We continue to battle historic wildfires , but we ’ re also battling this historic pandemic , COVID-19 , that has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ That makes some of our wildfire efforts a little bit more challenging , but we are up to the task.
” While the intense firefight continued in and around the Bay Area , crews made significant progress on several other substantial wildfires throughout the state .
The Lake fire , which ignited near Lake Hughes in Los Angeles County on Aug. 12 , was 65 % contained , officials said Monday .
That blaze had charred more than 31,000 acres and destroyed 33 structures and outbuildings .
Officials also lifted some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , allowing residents of Kings Canyon Road east to Shafer Road to return to their homes as of 10 a.m. Evacuations remained in place for areas east of Old Ridge Route , west of Kings Canyon Road , north of Pine Canyon Road and Three Points Road south of Highway 138 .
Officials announced Monday evening that all evacuation orders would be lifted by 10 a.m. Tuesday .
Elsewhere in L.A. County , the Ranch 2 fire was 81 % contained , officials said Monday .
That wildfire had burned 4,237 acres near @ @ @ @ @ @ @ south of Salinas in Monterey County , was 23 % contained .
That 48,424-acre wildfire had destroyed 21 structures since it started Aug. 16 .
“ Fire activity was minimal overnight , allowing firefighter [ s ] to make great progress by reinforcing containment lines , ” officials wrote in an incident update Monday morning .
Crews also reported 15 % containment of the Carmel fire , which was burning nearby to the southwest .
That fire had consumed roughly 6,700 acres and destroyed 51 structures .
Some evacuation orders were lifted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Up-to-date information on the status of evacuations is available through a county website .

Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money, Alex Wigglesworth, Joe Mozingo

The next few days will be critical for California firefighters already pushed to capacity, as storms could bring lightning that ignites more fires.
As two of the three largest fires in California history burned near the eastern edge of San Jose and in wine country north of San Francisco Bay, firefighters saw a welcome respite in dangerous fire weather with the cancellation of a red-flag warning for the Bay Area.
Forecasters, however, continued to warn about dry lightning in the Sacramento Valley’s foothills and mountains through Monday evening. Red-flag warnings — which indicate that dangerous fire weather conditions are expected — were also in effect for parts of the North Coast, northeast California and the Tahoe Basin through Monday evening.
The National Weather Service initially issued warnings covering large swaths of Northern and Central California through Monday afternoon. With firefighters already responding to more than two dozen major fires, it was feared the storms could ignite even more blazes and cause existing ones to spread more rapidly, pushing crews into a triage situation.
The red-flag warning covering the Bay Area and northern Central Coast was canceled shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday. The local National Weather Service office said that “weak cells are still over the North Bay; however, most moisture has moved north of our area and instability has decreased, giving us confidence to let the warning expire early.”
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Firefighters were able to use a brief respite in the wind over the weekend to build containment lines. Crews battling the CZU Lightning Complex fire in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties got some additional help from Mother Nature in the form of rain showers Sunday evening.
“The weather hasn’t been as significant as we were expecting, which is good,” Mark Brunton, operations chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said at a briefing Monday morning. “And that has given us an opportunity for our crews to make a lot of great progress throughout this fire.”
The sheer magnitude of what has already burned is sobering: about 1.4 million acres this month alone, with four more months of potential fire season to go. Only 2018 saw more land scorched in California — over an entire year.
“I’m essentially at a loss for words to describe the scope of the lightning-sparked fire outbreak that has rapidly evolved in Northern California — even in the context of the extraordinary fires of recent years,” wrote Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, in a blog post. “It’s truly astonishing.”
Jake Hess, a Cal Fire unit chief, said at a news conference for the SCU Lightning Complex fire — now California’s second-largest blaze in history at more than 360,000 acres — that the state has entered a period of mega fires.
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“We are essentially living in a mega fire era,” he said. “We have folks who have been working for Cal Fire for the last five years, and that is all they understand, mega fires, since they started.”
On Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the White House had approved California’s request for a presidential major disaster declaration to bolster the state’s emergency response to the wildfires.
Across California, “over 14,000 firefighters are on the front lines of more than two dozen major fires and lightning complexes,” or groups of fires, Jeremy Rahn, Cal Fire public information officer, said at a Sunday media briefing.
There have been more than 13,000 lightning strikes statewide since Aug. 15, he added on Monday, and “an astonishing 2,700 more wildfires have occurred this year than last.”
During a media briefing Monday afternoon, Newsom said that there had been at least 289 lightning strikes statewide over the last 24 hours, and that 10 new fires had broken out.
“The good news is the lightning did spare the coast, where a lot of the fires are going right now,” Michelle Mead, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Monday in a Cal Fire video update. “The bad news is we did have more lightning strikes in the inland region along the Sierra Crest.”
Crews are currently battling 625 fires throughout the state, according to Newsom. So far this year, firefighters have responded to 7,002 fires that have scorched a combined 1.4 million acres, the governor said.
By this same time last year, there had been 4,292 fires that had consumed about 56,000 acres.
Seven people have died so far in this year’s fires, including five — three in Napa County and two in Solano County — as a result of the LNU Lightning Complex fire, and one in the CZU Lightning Complex fire. The death toll also includes a pilot who died in a helicopter crash in Fresno County while on a water-dropping mission for the Hills fire.
Newsom called this week critical “as it relates to addressing and suppressing these wildfires” and said the state is “deploying every resource at our disposal.” In some areas, volunteer fire-fighting units have stepped in as well.
The state’s commitment includes more than 2,400 fire engines, he said. More have been pledged from other agencies both in and out of California — including 91 from Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
The LNU Lightning Complex fire, at more than 351,000 acres, is the second-largest fire in California history. With slightly less acreage burned — over 347,000 acres — the SCU Lightning Complex fire is the next largest. Combined, they dwarf the Thomas fire, which at 281,893 acres shattered the records just three years ago.
“To have both of those going on at the same time ... gives us the magnitude of what has happened here in this state,” Sean Kavanaugh, incident commander on the LNU fire, said Sunday.
As of Monday evening, the LNU fire complex, which was burning in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano, Yolo and Colusa counties, had destroyed 908 homes and other buildings and was 25% contained.
“The size and complexity of this fire is not one that we’ve seen in times past,” Cal Fire Unit Chief Shana Jones said during a briefing Monday, adding that “everyone on the line is extremely tired but working so incredibly hard.”
The SCU Lightning Complex fire, which spans seven counties, began as a collection of about 20 blazes in areas of Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties and by Sunday had merged into two conflagrations.
The fires, which were 15% contained as of Monday night, were burning primarily through grass and brush in steep, remote areas that hadn’t burned in years.
“There’s a lot of dead fuel up there,” said Barbara Rebiskie, public information officer on the SCU fire. “And the erratic winds, the 7% humidities and the lightning — it’s not a good combination.”
As of Monday afternoon, more than 20,000 homes and commercial buildings were threatened and 5 structures were confirmed destroyed. Investigators are looking into 7 other structures that may have also been demolished by the blaze.
A new evacuation order was issued at 3 a.m. Sunday for parts of Alameda County. In the hours that followed, a public information center was flooded with so many phone calls that it crashed. On Monday, officials reduced an evacuation order to a warning in parts of Stanislaus county.
Although firefighting resources have been pouring into the region in recent days, officials say it’s simply not enough.
In some places, officials said that they were being turned down for state help and left to beg for equipment and manpower from volunteers and local agencies.
California The fight to save one Northern California town from a fiery monster The fire, dubbed the CZU Lightning Complex fire, had burned 63,000 acres, destroyed 97 structures and forced the evacuation of about 77,000 people in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.
On Sunday afternoon, forecasters were concerned with an area of moisture with the potential to generate thunderstorms that was just off Central California and moving toward the Monterey area. Bay Area forecasters said Monday, however, that most of the moisture had moved to the north, spurring the cancellation of a red-flag warning there as well as along the northern Central Coast.
Since late July, more than 1,200 homes, commercial buildings and other structures have been destroyed by fires in California, with nearly all of that destruction occurring after Aug. 15, which marked the start of what officials are calling a “lightning siege.”
The CZU Lightning Complex fire was threatening multiple communities and had forced 77,000 people from their homes. The blaze began as a collection of about 22 fires that largely merged into one, challenging firefighters as they tried to keep the flames away from the towns dotting the rural, mountainous area.
The fire had consumed more than 78,000 acres and was 13% contained as of Monday evening. It threatened about 25,000 structures and had destroyed 276.
Ian Larkin, a unit chief for Cal Fire’s San Mateo Santa Cruz Unit, said that the aircraft attack was better Monday.
“We’re making progress thanks to the increase in personnel, and better weather, but we’ll be here awhile,” he said.
Newsom called the CZU Lightning Complex a “proof point that we are in a different climate” as it’s burning in areas “that have simply never seen forest fires because of weather conditions and the like.”
“We are dealing with different climate conditions that are precipitating in fires the likes of which we haven’t seen in modern recorded history — in dense forests that are well-covered and have been historically immune from significant fires along our coast,” he said.
The body of a 70-year-old man was recovered in the fire area over the weekend, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Chris Clark.
Clark said the man’s body was found “some distance away” from what appeared to be his vehicle at the end of Last Chance Road — deep in the mountains northwest of the community of Davenport in Santa Cruz County.
Last Chance Road was so damaged that it was impassable, and rescuers needed a helicopter to recover the man’s body.
Clark said it looked as though he was “likely leaving the fire.”
“This is the darkest day of this fire so far,” he told reporters Sunday.
Authorities were also searching Monday for four people who had been reported missing.
Firefighters over the weekend were taking advantage of fairly calm winds to attack the fire on the ground as much as possible as they scrambled to make progress ahead of the expected storm, said Daniel Potter, a Cal Fire public information officer.
“We’re going to get as much accomplished as we can before the front hits us,” he said. “And then adapt and overcome any new fires that may start in the area due to the lightning coming through.”
Crews worked over the weekend to establish containment lines and fire breaks around the city of Santa Cruz and the campus of UC Santa Cruz in a bid to keep the blaze from damaging the community if it made a run in that direction. As of Monday morning, Clark said there was “no imminent fire danger” to Santa Cruz.
Officials were asking people to stay out of evacuation zones to avoid hazards, including fire and downed trees and wires, and to keep roads open for emergency vehicles.
“It is highly dangerous in there still. There are trees coming down. We have redwood trees, old-growth timber that is coming across the roadway and we have infrastructure that needs repair,” Jonathan Cox, a deputy chief with Cal Fire, said Monday. “We have bridges that have failed.... It is not safe.”
They also warned about criminals taking advantage of the crisis. Authorities on Saturday morning arrested five people on suspicion of grand theft, burglary and conspiracy after they were stopped driving away from the Fall Creek Drive area, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said.
Someone also broke into the department vehicle of a firefighting commander while he was out battling the blaze, stole his wallet and drained his bank account, Brunton said at a briefing Sunday.
“It’s saddening, it’s sickening,” Brunton said. “We are doing everything we can to try to help the community, and unfortunately these [things] happen.”
Meanwhile, officials continued to beg tourists to stay away.
The Santa Cruz County Emergency Operations Center said it was requesting that visitors refrain from traveling to the area through Sept. 1 to keep overnight accommodations available for evacuees.
More than 45,000 Santa Cruz County residents have been displaced by the fires, and though the county is operating 12 shelters, capacity is limited because of COVID-19, officials said. Many hotels, motels and vacation rentals are also booked.
“DO NOT visit us now,” the county said in a tweet. “Air quality is poor, ash is everywhere, and we’re dealing with an unparalleled catastrophe. This is no time for a day at the beach.”
Given that closely clustered crowds heighten the risk of spreading the coronavirus, Newsom said many evacuees were not being directed to typical congregate settings. Out of 2,211 sheltered evacuees, 1,480 are staying in hotels, he said.
The state also has implemented additional safety protocols for shelters, including conducting health screenings and assessments prior to entry, requiring masks, installing air purifiers and practicing social distancing.
“We continue to battle historic wildfires, but we’re also battling this historic pandemic, COVID-19, that has not gone away,” he said. “That makes some of our wildfire efforts a little bit more challenging, but we are up to the task.”
While the intense firefight continued in and around the Bay Area, crews made significant progress on several other substantial wildfires throughout the state.
The Lake fire, which ignited near Lake Hughes in Los Angeles County on Aug. 12, was 65% contained, officials said Monday. That blaze had charred more than 31,000 acres and destroyed 33 structures and outbuildings.
Officials also lifted some evacuations in the burn area Monday morning, allowing residents of Kings Canyon Road east to Shafer Road to return to their homes as of 10 a.m. Evacuations remained in place for areas east of Old Ridge Route, west of Kings Canyon Road, north of Pine Canyon Road and Three Points Road south of Highway 138. Officials announced Monday evening that all evacuation orders would be lifted by 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Elsewhere in L.A. County, the Ranch 2 fire was 81% contained, officials said Monday. That wildfire had burned 4,237 acres near Azusa.
The River fire, burning south of Salinas in Monterey County, was 23% contained. That 48,424-acre wildfire had destroyed 21 structures since it started Aug. 16.
“Fire activity was minimal overnight, allowing firefighter[s] to make great progress by reinforcing containment lines,” officials wrote in an incident update Monday morning.
Crews also reported 15% containment of the Carmel fire, which was burning nearby to the southwest. That fire had consumed roughly 6,700 acres and destroyed 51 structures.
Some evacuation orders were lifted in the vicinity of the two fires Monday. Up-to-date information on the status of evacuations is available through a county website.
Times staff writer Leila Miller contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-08-27--O.C. hopes history doesn't repeat itself as it anticipates reopening guidelines

Orange County is expected to receive the green light for in-person learning at all schools just before Labor Day if it continues to remain off the state ’ s watchlist .
The county , which reported 369 COVID-19 cases and 29 related deaths Thursday , met the state ’ s six safety thresholds for case counts and hospitalizations last week .
Removal from the list affects only a county ’ s ability to reopen schools , but the state is set to release new reopening guidelines Friday for how other business sectors could reopen .
“ I believe that ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a phased approach , ” Orange County Health Care Agency Director and Public Health Officer Dr. Clayton Chau said during a news briefing Thursday .
Chau said that he and other health officials advocated for this sector-by-sector approach to avoid the state ’ s previous blanket reopening in late May and early June that resulted in high COVID-19 infection rates .
State Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday that Labor Day was not an explicit factor in the new guidelines , but increases in transmission over the holiday do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight to control the spread of the novel coronavirus .
Previous spikes in the state were connected to holiday weekends .
In Orange County , for example , mass gatherings at beaches over Memorial Day weekend were believed to have played some part in the spike in numbers .
Orange County has not taken any action to restrict beach access over the coming holiday , as Santa Barbara County has , but Chau stressed the need for people to remain at home and avoid the mixing of households .
“ Stay home if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out , ” he said , recommending that people opt for virtual parties over Skype or Facetime instead of in-person gatherings .
Chau was named acting public health officer after Dr. Nicole Quick resigned in June following backlash to her face-covering order .
Chau — who had initially defended the order — dropped the county ’ s mandate , which enabled residents to forgo the use of face coverings .
Chau on Thursday defended that decision , which is believed to have contributed to the spike in county cases , since no such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Shortly after , he said that he spoke directly to state officials to implement such an order .
“ I personally was the one who talked to the state about having it as a mandate , ” Chau said .
“ If you remember correctly , after I pulled back the order ... a week later , the governor came down with a mandate.
” Over the last several weeks , local health officials have had ongoing conversations with state officials about updates to state guidelines and its watchlist , which came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspended following a technical glitch with state ’ s electronic system that affected the gathering of test results .
“ We do not calculate our own number — the state does it , ” Chau said about numbers on the watchlist .

Orange County is expected to receive the green light for in-person learning at all schools just before Labor Day if it continues to remain off the state’s watchlist.
The county, which reported 369 COVID-19 cases and 29 related deaths Thursday, met the state’s six safety thresholds for case counts and hospitalizations last week. Removal from the list affects only a county’s ability to reopen schools, but the state is set to release new reopening guidelines Friday for how other business sectors could reopen.
“I believe that ... the new reopening framework will actually have a phased approach,” Orange County Health Care Agency Director and Public Health Officer Dr. Clayton Chau said during a news briefing Thursday. Chau said that he and other health officials advocated for this sector-by-sector approach to avoid the state’s previous blanket reopening in late May and early June that resulted in high COVID-19 infection rates.
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State Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday that Labor Day was not an explicit factor in the new guidelines, but increases in transmission over the holiday do pose a concern as California continues to fight to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Previous spikes in the state were connected to holiday weekends. In Orange County, for example, mass gatherings at beaches over Memorial Day weekend were believed to have played some part in the spike in numbers.
Orange County has not taken any action to restrict beach access over the coming holiday, as Santa Barbara County has, but Chau stressed the need for people to remain at home and avoid the mixing of households.
“Stay home if you don’t need to be out,” he said, recommending that people opt for virtual parties over Skype or Facetime instead of in-person gatherings.
Chau was named acting public health officer after Dr. Nicole Quick resigned in June following backlash to her face-covering order. Chau — who had initially defended the order — dropped the county’s mandate, which enabled residents to forgo the use of face coverings.
Chau on Thursday defended that decision, which is believed to have contributed to the spike in county cases, since no such statewide mandate had existed at the time. Shortly after, he said that he spoke directly to state officials to implement such an order.
“I personally was the one who talked to the state about having it as a mandate,” Chau said. “If you remember correctly, after I pulled back the order ... a week later, the governor came down with a mandate.”
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Over the last several weeks, local health officials have had ongoing conversations with state officials about updates to state guidelines and its watchlist, which came under scrutiny after use of it was suspended following a technical glitch with state’s electronic system that affected the gathering of test results.
“We do not calculate our own number — the state does it,” Chau said about numbers on the watchlist.


latimes--2020-08-27--Lane Hirabayashi, scholar who refused to let Japanese American prison camps be forgotten, dies at 67

Lane Hirabayashi , one the nation ’ s leading scholars on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II who spent decades trying to keep memories of the prison camps from being swept to the back pages of history , has died .
Hirabayashi died Aug. 8 in Santa Monica after a long struggle with cancer , his family said .
He was 67 .
The son of concentration camp survivors , Hirabayashi plowed through field notes from the camps , interviewed photographers tasked with making the forced confinements seem like a pleasurable experience to the rest of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his own uncle , Gordon Hirabayashi , who was imprisoned when he protested the roundup of Japanese Americans after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor .
Gordon Hirabayashi ’ s legal fight reached the U.S. Supreme Court , and though the court ruled against him , his case was cited again and again as President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 , which blamed the wartime imprisonment of Japanese Americans on racial prejudice and failed political leadership .
“ In the height of the hysteria , I think Gordon was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hirabayashi told The Times in 2006 .
That year , Hirabayashi became the first professor in the nation to be named to an academic chair dedicated to the study of the incarceration camps and the wartime experience of Japanese Americans .
It was a deeply personal appointment .
“ To me , I feel that this is a family obligation , ” he said during ceremonies when he was appointed to the George and Sakaye Aratani Endowed Chair in UCLA ’ s Asian American Studies Center .
In the months after the 9/11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people from mostly Middle Eastern countries to register with the government , a reactive policy that to people such as the Aratanis — both incarceration camp survivors — seemed like worrisome evidence that the racial hysteria that gave birth to the World War II-era prison camps had been forgotten .
“ A thing like that , ” George Aratani said during Hirabayashi ’ s appointment , “ should never happen again.
” Lane Ryo Hirabayashi was born Oct. 17 , 1952 , in Mill Valley , Calif. , and grew up in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ James , was the first dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State , and his uncle Gordon , whose education was interrupted by his imprisonment , was a professor at the University of Alberta in Canada .
The family ’ s shared experience with incarceration was anything but a secret .
“ In a lot of Japanese families there are still feelings of trauma or stigma , even today , and people don ’ t want to talk about it , ” he told an American Friends Service Committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ camp was an episode in our extended family ’ s experience that was openly discussed.
” In the late 1960s , with the music scene thriving in San Francisco , he joined the Muskadine Blues Band , a rock group that shared the stage with musical acts such as Mike Bloomfield , Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks , and the Flying Circus .
More comfortable with academics , Hirabayashi put aside his guitar and headed to Sonoma State , where he earned his bachelor ’ s degree .
He earned his master @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UC Berkeley .
Though his life , Hirabayashi blended academia and activism .
While a professor at San Francisco State , he joined the fight to preserve housing for elderly Japanese immigrants during the redevelopment of San Francisco ’ s Japantown .
He taught at the University of Colorado Boulder , UC Riverside and finally UCLA , all the while investigating a bygone era when more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were rounded up , stripped of most of their possessions and property and taken against their will to prison camps encircled by barbed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hirabayashi wrote books on the fieldwork conducted at incarceration camps such as Manzanar in the Owens Valley and Tule Lake in Northern California , and he documented and contextualized the government effort to photograph the prison camps and the arriving or departing inmates in as sunny a way as was possible .
In “ A Principled Stand : The Story of Gordon Hirabayashi v. United States , ” he shared his uncle ’ s diaries from his years of bruising legal fights with the government , including his arrest for violating a nightly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for resisting being taken to a concentration camp and his profound disappointment when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his constitutional rights had not been violated .
In 1987 , more than four decades later , Gordon Hirabayashi ’ s conviction was finally overturned .
As a scholar , Lane Hirabayashi pushed to eliminate government euphemisms such as “ relocation ” and “ evacuation ” and use honest terminology such as “ imprisonment ” and “ mass arrests.
” “ He wanted to change the narrative , ” said Brian Niiya , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a grass-roots organization dedicated to preserving the story of the World War II-era incarceration .
“ In that , he was the leading figure.
” Hirabayashi is survived by his wife , Marilyn , his sister , Jan Rice , and several other relatives .

Lane Ryo Hirabayashi studied the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II and the government’s attempts to sanitize the images of the concentration camps.
Lane Hirabayashi, one of the nation’s leading scholars on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II who spent decades trying to keep memories of the prison camps from being swept to the back pages of history, has died.
Hirabayashi died Aug. 8 in Santa Monica after a long struggle with cancer, his family said. He was 67.
The son of concentration camp survivors, Hirabayashi plowed through field notes from the camps, interviewed photographers tasked with making the forced confinements seem like a pleasurable experience to the rest of the U.S. and dove into the backstory of his own uncle, Gordon Hirabayashi, who was imprisoned when he protested the roundup of Japanese Americans after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Gordon Hirabayashi’s legal fight reached the U.S. Supreme Court, and though the court ruled against him, his case was cited again and again as President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which blamed the wartime imprisonment of Japanese Americans on racial prejudice and failed political leadership.
“In the height of the hysteria, I think Gordon was very, very brave,” Lane Hirabayashi told The Times in 2006.
That year, Hirabayashi became the first professor in the nation to be named to an academic chair dedicated to the study of the incarceration camps and the wartime experience of Japanese Americans. It was a deeply personal appointment.
“To me, I feel that this is a family obligation,” he said during ceremonies when he was appointed to the George and Sakaye Aratani Endowed Chair in UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center.
In the months after the 9/11 terror attacks, the U.S. began requiring people from mostly Middle Eastern countries to register with the government, a reactive policy that to people such as the Aratanis — both incarceration camp survivors — seemed like worrisome evidence that the racial hysteria that gave birth to the World War II-era prison camps had been forgotten.
“A thing like that,” George Aratani said during Hirabayashi’s appointment, “should never happen again.”
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Lane Ryo Hirabayashi was born Oct. 17, 1952, in Mill Valley, Calif., and grew up in a house of academics. His father, James, was the first dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State, and his uncle Gordon, whose education was interrupted by his imprisonment, was a professor at the University of Alberta in Canada. The family’s shared experience with incarceration was anything but a secret.
“In a lot of Japanese families there are still feelings of trauma or stigma, even today, and people don’t want to talk about it,” he told an American Friends Service Committee blogger in 2013. “But the camp was an episode in our extended family’s experience that was openly discussed.”
In the late 1960s, with the music scene thriving in San Francisco, he joined the Muskadine Blues Band, a rock group that shared the stage with musical acts such as Mike Bloomfield, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, and the Flying Circus. More comfortable with academics, Hirabayashi put aside his guitar and headed to Sonoma State, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He earned his master’s and doctorate in anthropology at UC Berkeley.
Through his life, Hirabayashi blended academia and activism. While a professor at San Francisco State, he joined the fight to preserve housing for elderly Japanese immigrants during the redevelopment of San Francisco’s Japantown. He taught at the University of Colorado Boulder, UC Riverside and finally UCLA, all the while investigating a bygone era when more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were rounded up, stripped of most of their possessions and property, and taken against their will to prison camps encircled by barbed wire where armed guards stood watch.
Japanese Americans in the Manzanar incarceration camp in California’s Owens Valley during World War II. (Los Angeles Times)
Hirabayashi wrote books on the fieldwork conducted at incarceration camps such as Manzanar in the Owens Valley and Tule Lake in Northern California, and he documented and contextualized the government effort to photograph the prison camps and the arriving or departing inmates in as sunny a way as was possible.
In “A Principled Stand: The Story of Hirabayashi v. United States,” he shared his uncle’s diaries from his years of bruising legal fights with the government, including his arrest for violating a nightly curfew for Japanese Americans, his imprisonment for resisting being taken to a concentration camp and his profound disappointment when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his constitutional rights had not been violated.
In 1987, more than four decades later, Gordon Hirabayashi’s conviction was finally overturned.
As a scholar, Lane Hirabayashi pushed to eliminate government euphemisms such as “relocation” and “evacuation” and use honest terminology such as “imprisonment” and “mass arrests.”
“He wanted to change the narrative,” said Brian Niiya, a friend and a director with Densho, a grass-roots organization dedicated to preserving the story of the World War II-era incarceration. “In that, he was the leading figure.”
Hirabayashi is survived by his wife, Marilyn, his sister, Jan Rice, and several other relatives.


latimes--2020-08-27--Family of Black man killed by Pasadena police file claims against city

Relatives of Anthony McClain , a Black man who was fatally shot by Pasadena police as he ran from officers during a traffic stop earlier this month , have filed two legal claims against the city .
A Pasadena police car dash camera captured the shooting of McClain , 32 , around 8 p.m. Aug. 15 .
In the video , McClain is asked to step out of the passenger seat of a four-door Infiniti that was stopped because it did not have a front license plate .
The driver , who was found to have a suspended license , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
McClain runs away with what appears to be something shiny around his waistband as two officers chase after him , ordering him to stop .
The video shows one officer firing two shots — one of which strikes the fleeing man in his flank — as McClain sprints away .
Authorities said McClain ran for about another 100 yards before collapsing .
He died hours later at a hospital .
In a description of the video , police say that the object at McClain ’ s waist was a handgun and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can be seen in his left hand as he runs away before turning his head back toward the pursuing officers .
Police said an illegally assembled semiautomatic pistol with different serial numbers was recovered nearby .
Caree Harper , the attorney for McClain ’ s sister and grandmother , says what police saw in the video was a large metal Michael Kors belt buckle .
In a legal claim filed Thursday , Harper said McClain was not armed and the weapon police say was recovered has not been forensically tied to him .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ recklessly , with one of his rounds narrowly missing a group of bystanders and striking a nearby house .
“ There are at least three people in the direct line of fire as Officer [ Christian ] Rosa fired , ” Harper wrote in a 13-page legal claim — the precursor to a lawsuit — seeking damages for wrongful death .
Harper , a former police officer , said Rosa — who was supposed to be the “ cover unit ” — created potential chaos by opening the passenger door and directing McClain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time as the driver .
She said that when McClain began to walk away from the officer , Rosa grabbed the man ’ s left forearm .
“ Fearing for his life , ” McClain fled , the attorney alleged .
Harper said that if the slim , 6-foot-1 McClain had had a gun , it would have been easily visible .
The claim cites one witness who said he never saw McClain make a threatening gesture , but did flinch after being shot .
Another witness , who knew McClain , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officer ’ s direction to lie down and spread his arms .
Once on the ground , according to court documents , McClain was asked by the officer about a gun and responded : “ I didn ’ t have a gun.
” None of the video released by Pasadena police shows McClain tossing a gun , though police have said a witness told authorities that McClain was seen throwing the weapon as he ran .
Harper said “ it is simply unbelievable ” that a mortally wounded man could toss a gun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scratched and his fingerprints not be found on the weapon .
The fatal shooting , which is under investigation from several jurisdictions , ignited protests in Pasadena .
It follows the video-recorded death of George Floyd , a Black man pinned to the ground by his neck during a Minneapolis arrest , which sparked protests and uprisings nationwide and widespread debate about use of force toward people of color , oversight and police funding .
In the wake of the shooting , the Pasadena City Council on Monday approved a plan for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a proposal with years of community discussion following other police shootings .
The vice mayor has publicly called for the officer involved in McClain ’ s shooting to be fired .
Thursday ’ s claim comes on the heels of another filed in McClain ’ s death .
“ I don ’ t see no reason he should deserve to be shot in the back , ” Archie Barry , who described himself as McClain ’ s father , said while standing outside Pasadena police headquarters .
“ I will have to deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Barry ’ s attorney , Luis Carrillo , filed a separate legal claim for damages Wednesday .
The lawyer says the Pasadena police fail to train officers adequately in the use of force .
“ This city doesn ’ t teach its officers reverence for human life , ” Carrillo said .
“ Officers should respect life .
This officer did not respect Anthony McClain ’ s life .
This officer cowardly shot Anthony McClain in the back .
This city doesn ’ t train its officers well .
He was no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Perez said that he has not made a final determination about the shooting but that video shows McClain has a gun in his hand .
“ You can see the weapon begin to turn with the body , ” the chief said last week when the footage was released .
Perez said the initial information indicates the shooting meets a state law enacted last year that changed California ’ s standard for the use of deadly force , noting that McClain posed an “ imminent threat.
” The law allows officers to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for felonies that threaten or result in death or serious bodily injury if the officer reasonably believes the person will hurt or kill others unless immediately apprehended .

Relatives of Anthony McClain, a Black man who was fatally shot by Pasadena police as he ran from officers during a traffic stop earlier this month, have filed two legal claims against the city.
A Pasadena police car dash camera captured the shooting of McClain, 32, around 8 p.m. Aug. 15. In the video, McClain is asked to step out of the passenger seat of a four-door Infiniti that was stopped because it did not have a front license plate. The driver, who was found to have a suspended license, was also asked to exit the vehicle.
McClain runs away with what appears to be something shiny around his waistband as two officers chase after him, ordering him to stop. The video shows one officer firing two shots — one of which strikes the fleeing man in his flank — as McClain sprints away.
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Authorities said McClain ran for about another 100 yards before collapsing. He died hours later at a hospital.
In a description of the video, police say that the object at McClain’s waist was a handgun and that in a slow-motion version, the object can be seen in his left hand as he runs away before turning his head back toward the pursuing officers.
Police said an illegally assembled semiautomatic pistol with different serial numbers was recovered nearby.
Caree Harper, the attorney for McClain’s sister and grandmother, says what police saw in the video was a large metal Michael Kors belt buckle.
In a legal claim filed Thursday, Harper said McClain was not armed and the weapon police say was recovered has not been forensically tied to him.
Harper also argued the pursuing officer fired recklessly, with one of his rounds narrowly missing a group of bystanders and striking a nearby house.
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“There are at least three people in the direct line of fire as Officer [Christian] Rosa fired,” Harper wrote in a 13-page legal claim — the precursor to a lawsuit — seeking damages for wrongful death.
Harper, a former police officer, said Rosa — who was supposed to be the “cover unit” — created potential chaos by opening the passenger door and directing McClain out of the car at the same time as the driver. She said that when McClain began to walk away from the officer, Rosa grabbed the man’s left forearm. “Fearing for his life,” McClain fled, the attorney alleged.
A Pasadena city spokeswoman said Rosa was not the officer who shot McClain. The city, however, has so far refused to provide the identity of the officer.
Harper said that if the slim, 6-foot-1 McClain had had a gun, it would have been easily visible.
The claim cites one witness who said he never saw McClain make a threatening gesture, but did flinch after being shot. Another witness, who knew McClain, said the man seemed to listen to the officer’s direction to lie down and spread his arms. Once on the ground, according to court documents, McClain was asked by the officer about a gun and responded: “I didn’t have a gun.”
None of the video released by Pasadena police shows McClain tossing a gun, though police have said a witness told authorities that McClain was seen throwing the weapon as he ran.
Harper said “it is simply unbelievable” that a mortally wounded man could toss a gun across the street and it not be scratched and his fingerprints not be found on the weapon.
The fatal shooting, which is under investigation from several jurisdictions, ignited protests in Pasadena. It follows the video-recorded death of George Floyd, a Black man pinned to the ground by his neck during a Minneapolis arrest, which sparked protests and uprisings nationwide and widespread debate about use of force toward people of color, oversight and police funding.
In the wake of the shooting, the Pasadena City Council on Monday approved a plan for a police auditor and an oversight committee, a proposal with years of community discussion following other police shootings. The vice mayor has publicly called for the officer involved in McClain’s shooting to be fired.
Thursday’s claim comes on the heels of another filed in McClain’s death.
“I don’t see no reason he should deserve to be shot in the back,” Archie Barry, who identified himself as McClain’s father, said while standing outside Pasadena police headquarters. “I will have to deal with this the rest of my life.”
Barry’s attorney, Luis Carrillo, filed a separate legal claim for damages Wednesday. The lawyer says the Pasadena police fail to train officers adequately in the use of force.
“This city doesn’t teach its officers reverence for human life,” Carrillo said. “Officers should respect life. This officer did not respect Anthony McClain’s life. This officer cowardly shot Anthony McClain in the back. This city doesn’t train its officers well. He was no imminent threat.”
Pasadena Police Chief John Perez said he has not made a final determination about the shooting but that video shows McClain has a gun in his hand.
“You can see the weapon begin to turn with the body,” the chief said last week when the footage was released.
Perez said the initial information indicates the shooting meets a state law enacted last year that changed California’s standard for the use of deadly force, noting that McClain posed an “imminent threat.” The law allows officers to use deadly force to apprehend a fleeing person for felonies that threaten or result in death or serious bodily injury if the officer reasonably believes the person will hurt or kill others unless immediately apprehended.


latimes--2020-08-27--New $300-a-week unemployment benefits coming soon, California officials say

Millions of Californians who are out of work during the pandemic will soon receive a $ 300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit retroactive to Aug. 1 , state officials said Thursday .
The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved California ’ s application for $ 4.5 billion to cover at least three weeks of supplemental benefits after a $ 600 weekly payment expired last month .
California ’ s Employment Development Department will begin processing payments for eligible people and sending out payments during the week of Sept. 7 , agency officials said Thursday .
“ These benefits are critical for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for our economy , which have been so devastated by the virus and its financial impacts , ” California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su said in a statement .
“ As we modernize and strengthen the state ’ s unemployment insurance delivery system , we will continue to leverage any additional resources the federal government makes available.
” The $ 300 payment will be available for Californians who are currently eligible to receive at least $ 100 in weekly state unemployment benefits and have certified that they are unemployed or partly unemployed due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the state Employment Development Department .
While Congress has deadlocked over a proposal to extend the previous $ 600 benefit , President Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 8 allocating $ 44 billion in existing federal emergency funds to states to provide $ 300 per week .
California was the 18th state to win FEMA approval to participate in the program.It was set up to possibly run through Dec. 27 , but only the first three weeks have been allocated , with future weeks dependent on the availability of federal funds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that funds may run out after three weeks concerns advocates for renters including George A. Warner , an attorney with the group Legal Aid At Work in San Francisco .
“ The Trump administration ’ s ` lost wages assistance , which is not the same as unemployment insurance , is letting Californians and the American people down , ” Warner said , calling $ 300 a week “ untenable for unemployed families given the devastating impact of COVID on the job market.
” He said the requirement that jobless people qualify for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaves out those most in need of help .
“ These half measures hurt working families , our state ’ s economy and our communities .
The program doesn ’ t meet the gravity of this moment , ” Warner said .
He added that because the program is guaranteed for only three weeks , “ it will take states far too much time , money , and resources to implement at a time they are already dealing with an unprecedented number of claims.
” State officials initially said their antiquated computer system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be reprogrammed to handle the new federal allocation , but the program was simplified by Washington .
Originally , federal officials talked about a formula in which states would match the $ 300 with $ 100 in state funds , but that requirement was relaxed to allow existing state unemployment to count toward the match .
Still , there is concern that low-income residents who need financial help the most are being left out of the supplemental benefit program because it requires recipients to already be receiving $ 100 a week in state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be processed starting the week of Sept. 7 came a few days after state lawmakers renewed criticism of the EDD during a public hearing on continuing problems that have left hundreds of thousands of unemployed Californians without benefits .
Assembly members including Democrat Adrin Nazarian of Los Angeles said during a hearing Monday that the agency has previously experienced the same problems and he is disappointed that the issues were not resolved .
“ We were extremely ill-prepared , ” Nazarian told EDD Director Sharon Hilliard during a Capitol hearing of an Assembly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lawmakers that technology improvements have allowed the department to pay out billions of dollars in benefits , but she acknowledged that more needs to be done .
“ It ’ s not acceptable , ” Hilliard said of the current situation .
“ What we have been able to accomplish is quite incredible , but it ’ s not good enough .
”

Millions of Californians who are out of work during the pandemic will soon receive a $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit retroactive to Aug. 1, state officials said Thursday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved California’s application for $4.5 billion to cover at least three weeks of supplemental benefits after a $600 weekly payment expired last month.
California’s Employment Development Department will begin processing payments for eligible people and sending out payments during the week of Sept. 7, agency officials said Thursday.
“These benefits are critical for the basic security of families and communities and for our economy, which have been so devastated by the virus and its financial impacts,” California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su said in a statement. “As we modernize and strengthen the state’s unemployment insurance delivery system, we will continue to leverage any additional resources the federal government makes available.”
The $300 payment will be available for Californians who are currently eligible to receive at least $100 in weekly state unemployment benefits and have certified that they are unemployed or partly unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19, according to the state Employment Development Department.
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While Congress has deadlocked over a proposal to extend the previous $600 benefit, President Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 8 allocating $44 billion in existing federal emergency funds to states to provide $300 per week.
California was the 18th state to win FEMA approval to participate in the program.It was set up to possibly run through Dec. 27, but only the first three weeks have been allocated, with future weeks dependent on the availability of federal funds.
The payment amount and the possibility that funds may run out after three weeks concerns advocates for renters including George A. Warner, an attorney with the group Legal Aid At Work in San Francisco.
“The Trump administration’s `lost wages assistance, which is not the same as unemployment insurance, is letting Californians and the American people down,” Warner said, calling $300 a week “untenable for unemployed families given the devastating impact of COVID on the job market.”
He said the requirement that jobless people qualify for $100 or more in weekly benefits leaves out those most in need of help.
“These half measures hurt working families, our state’s economy and our communities. The program doesn’t meet the gravity of this moment,” Warner said.
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He added that because the program is guaranteed for only three weeks, “it will take states far too much time, money, and resources to implement at a time they are already dealing with an unprecedented number of claims.”
State officials initially said their antiquated computer system might require up to 20 weeks to be reprogrammed to handle the new federal allocation, but the program was simplified by Washington.
Originally, federal officials talked about a formula in which states would match the $300 with $100 in state funds, but that requirement was relaxed to allow existing state unemployment to count toward the match.
Still, there is concern that low-income residents who need financial help the most are being left out of the supplemental benefit program because it requires recipients to already be receiving $100 a week in state unemployment.
The announcement that claims will be processed starting the week of Sept. 7 came a few days after state lawmakers renewed criticism of the EDD during a public hearing on continuing problems that have left hundreds of thousands of unemployed Californians without benefits.
Assembly members including Democrat Adrin Nazarian of Los Angeles said during a hearing Monday that the agency has previously experienced the same problems and he is disappointed that the issues were not resolved.
“We were extremely ill-prepared,” Nazarian told EDD Director Sharon Hilliard during a Capitol hearing of an Assembly budget subcommittee on administration.
Hilliard told the lawmakers that technology improvements have allowed the department to pay out billions of dollars in benefits, but she acknowledged that more needs to be done.
“It’s not acceptable,” Hilliard said of the current situation. “What we have been able to accomplish is quite incredible, but it’s not good enough.”


latimes--2020-08-27--Police unions ask Legislature to hold special session for reforms

With protesters back in the street this week after the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin , unions representing Los Angeles and San Francisco officers Thursday asked Gov .
Gavin Newsom to call a special session of the Legislature on policing before passing reforms .
While the current legislative session began as protests over the death of George Floyd , a Black man killed by a Minnesota police officer in May , convulsed the state , the will for reforms has waned at the Capitol as those uprisings have tapered and public attention has shifted to wildfires and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ introduced weeks ago have now been pared down to a handful of mostly moderate reforms .
A proposal to create a statewide system to strip bad officers of their badges is still in play and has caused the most consternation for law enforcement .
Bills that would increase access to police records , curb the use of rubber bullets and tear gas at protests and require more oversight of investigations of deadly force by the state attorney general are also still being considered .
The governor has no plans to call a special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokesman said Thursday .
The deadline for the Legislature to vote on those measures and hundreds of other bills is Monday night .
The Capitol was further thrown into chaos Wednesday when a Republican senator from Santee , Brian Jones , was diagnosed with COVID-19 , triggering a quarantine of nearly all the Republican members of the Senate .
The majority of law enforcement unions in the state have said they don ’ t oppose a system to track and ban problematic officers , but argue that in a session already shortened by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had the public hearings and scrutiny of a normal session .
In particular , law enforcement unions contend that the decertification bill , Senate Bill 731 , authored by Steven Bradford ( D-Gardena ) , goes too far by including a powerful citizens panel weighted toward community organizations and families of victims of police violence and that the proposed law may have conflicts with existing laws .
“ We are committed to working in a collaborative manner to advance common-sense , fair and reasonable improvements to how we safely police in California , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Los Angeles Police Protective League , said of the request for a special session .
“ The current end-of-session rush of legislation that is not fully baked , rife with unintended consequences and in need of focused analysis , does not serve the best interests of the public or public safety professionals.
” In a hearing Wednesday on SB 731 , Bradford acknowledged that some details of the legislation may require finessing , but disputed that it was not properly crafted or that it had been rushed .
His bill , he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Black man killed by Gardena police in 2018 .
The officer who fired the fatal shots had been involved in three previous shootings while working at another agency , Bradford said , pointing to the need for a system to track officers who switch agencies , especially those who may resign to avoid investigations .
Peter Bibring , director of police practices for the American Civil Liberties Union of California , which helped to craft the bill , said it had already been slow-walked through the Legislature in recent weeks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ To delay further would just send a message to communities that they have to wait your turn as abusive cops threaten their communities , ” Bibring said .
“ The policing bills before the Legislature ... are good , common-sense bills , and the Legislature shouldn ’ t delay justice and accountability another day.
” Ross ’ mother , Fouzia Almarou , said this week that the legislation was “ a very important bill , ” but she was concerned that decreasing attention on the issue would harm its chances of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it ’ s fading , ” she said .
“ The most important thing is to keep fighting and keep showing up .
”

People hold their hands up as police form a line in the Third Street Tunnel on Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles during a protest after the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis.
With protesters back in the street this week after the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin, unions representing Los Angeles and San Francisco officers Thursday asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to call a special session of the Legislature on policing before passing reforms.
While the current legislative session began as protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a Minnesota police officer in May, convulsed the state, the will for reforms has waned at the Capitol as those uprisings have tapered and public attention has shifted to wildfires and the coronavirus. Nearly two dozen bills introduced weeks ago have now been pared down to a handful of mostly moderate reforms.
A proposal to create a statewide system to strip bad officers of their badges is still in play and has caused the most consternation for law enforcement. Bills that would increase access to police records, curb the use of rubber bullets and tear gas at protests and require more oversight of investigations of deadly force by the state attorney general are also still being considered.
The governor has no plans to call a special session at this time, a Newsom spokesman said Thursday.
The deadline for the Legislature to vote on those measures and hundreds of other bills is Monday night. The Capitol was further thrown into chaos Wednesday when a Republican senator from Santee, Brian Jones, was diagnosed with COVID-19, triggering a quarantine of nearly all the Republican members of the Senate.
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The majority of law enforcement unions in the state have said they don’t oppose a system to track and ban problematic officers, but argue that in a session already shortened by the virus, the reforms have not had the public hearings and scrutiny of a normal session.
In particular, law enforcement unions contend that the decertification bill, Senate Bill 731, authored by state Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), goes too far by including a powerful citizens panel weighted toward community organizations and families of victims of police violence and that the proposed law may have conflicts with existing laws.
“We are committed to working in a collaborative manner to advance common-sense, fair and reasonable improvements to how we safely police in California,” Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said of the request for a special session. “The current end-of-session rush of legislation that is not fully baked, rife with unintended consequences and in need of focused analysis, does not serve the best interests of the public or public safety professionals.”
In a hearing Wednesday on SB 731, Bradford acknowledged that some details of the legislation may require finessing, but disputed that it was not properly crafted or that it had been rushed. His bill, he said, is named after Kenneth Ross Jr., a Black man killed by Gardena police in 2018. The officer who fired the fatal shots had been involved in three previous shootings while working at another agency, Bradford said, pointing to the need for a system to track officers who switch agencies, especially those who may resign to avoid investigations.
Peter Bibring, director of police practices for the American Civil Liberties Union of California, which helped to craft the bill, said it had already been slow-walked through the Legislature in recent weeks, and that holding it longer was unnecessary.
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“To delay further would just send a message to communities that they have to wait your turn as abusive cops threaten their communities,” Bibring said. “The policing bills before the Legislature ... are good, common-sense bills, and the Legislature shouldn’t delay justice and accountability another day.”
Ross’ mother, Fouzia Almarou, said this week that the legislation was “a very important bill,” but she was concerned that decreasing attention on the issue would harm its chances of passage.
“I actually do feel that it’s fading,” she said. “The most important thing is to keep fighting and keep showing up.”


latimes--2020-08-27--Rat poison kills bobcat, mountain lion in Southern California mountains

A young mountain lion and an adult bobcat whose bodies were found earlier this year in Southern California both died from rat poisons , the latest wildlife fatalities linked to the pest control compounds , officials announced Thursday .
While mountain lions periodically succumb to the poisons , this is only the second time in a 24-year study period that a bobcat has died directly from the effects of anticoagulant rodenticides , according to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area .
The last such death was 23 years ago .
“ We basically never see this in bobcats , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Joanne Moriarty , a biologist who works on bobcat research , said in a statement .
The bobcat that died , an adult female known as B-372 , was originally captured and collared Jan. 28 in southern Cheeseboro Canyon , north of the 101 Freeway .
Her body was found June 20 under an oak tree in an Agoura Hills neighborhood , officials said .
A necropsy later found several toxic compounds in her system : brodifacoum , bromadiolone and diphacinone .
All are used as anticoagulant rodenticides , designed to kill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clotting , which leads to uncontrollable bleeding .
Predators can ingest those poisons when they feed on the vermin .
Officials said virtually all bobcats in the study — more than 90 % — test positive for exposure to such compounds after death .
However , biologists say they generally do not see internal bleeding in the cats , which would indicate they died as a direct result of poison exposure .
Bobcats far more often die from disease , namely mange , or being hit by a car , officials said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of chronic anemia , officials said , meaning she may have been exposed to rat poisons repeatedly .
Moriarty said this particular cat spent a good deal of time in residential areas .
Large parts of the animal ’ s nearby natural habitat were charred in the 2018 Woolsey fire .
“ We documented several other collared bobcats abandoning burned areas in the Simi Hills shortly after the fire , ” officials from the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area wrote in a statement .
“ Spending more time in neighborhoods may have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often used by homeowners or businesses to control rodents .
More exposure , potentially over a shorter time period , could have led to more severe direct impacts of the toxicants than we normally see in this species.
” Mountain lions , on the other hand , have more regularly fallen prey to poison .
The latest , a younger male called P-76 , was the third collared cougar to die of coagulopathy — uncontrolled bleeding — in the last two years and the sixth overall , according to the National Park Service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carnivores in and around the Santa Monica Mountains for more than two decades , and mountain lions in particular since 2002 .
Officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife captured and collared P-76 in Northridge last November .
His body was found Jan. 30 in the Santa Susana Mountains north of Highway 118 .
The results of a necropsy , which came back only recently , showed he had been exposed to five compounds : the same three as B-372 , plus chlorophacinone and difethialone .
“ These two cases show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be exposed to these toxicants , including an array of different poisons , with effects up to and including death from uncontrolled bleeding , ” Seth Riley , wildlife branch chief for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area , said in a statement .
“ We are also continuing to see lots of cases of severe mange disease in bobcats in the area .
Between poisons , disease and the massive Woolsey Fire , it has been a tough go recently for our wild cats in the park .
”

The body of B-372, an adult female bobcat, was found June 20 in Agoura Hills. Officials said she died from the effects of anticoagulant rat poisons.
A young mountain lion and an adult bobcat whose bodies were found earlier this year in Southern California both died from rat poisons, the latest wildlife fatalities linked to the pest control compounds, officials announced Thursday.
While mountain lions periodically succumb to the poisons, this is only the second time in a 24-year study period that a bobcat has died directly from the effects of anticoagulant rodenticides, according to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
The last such death was 23 years ago.
“We basically never see this in bobcats, so this is an important finding,” Joanne Moriarty, a biologist who works on bobcat research, said in a statement.
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The bobcat that died, an adult female known as B-372, was originally captured and collared Jan. 28 in southern Cheeseboro Canyon, north of the 101 Freeway.
B-372 was the first bobcat under study to die directly from the effects of anticoagulant rat poisons in 23 years, officials said. (National Park Service)
Her body was found June 20 under an oak tree in an Agoura Hills neighborhood, officials said. A necropsy later found several toxic compounds in her system: brodifacoum, bromadiolone and diphacinone.
All are used as anticoagulant rodenticides, designed to kill rodents by thinning their blood and preventing clotting, which leads to uncontrollable bleeding.
Predators can ingest those poisons when they feed on the vermin.
Officials said virtually all bobcats in the study — more than 90% — test positive for exposure to such compounds after death. However, biologists say they generally do not see internal bleeding in the cats, which would indicate they died as a direct result of poison exposure.
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Bobcats far more often die from disease, namely mange, or being hit by a car, officials said.
California Cars are killing bobcats at an alarming rate in Southern California, biologists say At least six bobcats have been struck and killed by vehicles in the Santa Monica Mountains in the past three months, including one that had been captured and collared by wildlife officials shortly before the Woolsey fire, the National Park Service said.
B-372 was extremely emaciated and showed signs of chronic anemia, officials said, meaning she may have been exposed to rat poisons repeatedly.
Moriarty said this particular cat spent a good deal of time in residential areas. Large parts of the animal’s nearby natural habitat were charred in the 2018 Woolsey fire.
“We documented several other collared bobcats abandoning burned areas in the Simi Hills shortly after the fire,” officials from the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area wrote in a statement.
“Spending more time in neighborhoods may have led to increased exposure to the poisons often used by homeowners or businesses to control rodents. More exposure, potentially over a shorter time period, could have led to more severe direct impacts of the toxicants than we normally see in this species.”
California Two mountain lions found dead in Santa Monica Mountains had ingested rat poison P-30 and P-53, which had previously been treated for mange, were found dead in September and August, respectively.
Mountain lions, on the other hand, have more regularly fallen prey to poison.
The latest, a younger male called P-76, was the third collared cougar to die of coagulopathy — uncontrolled bleeding — in the last two years and the sixth overall, according to the National Park Service.
NPS researchers have been studying wild carnivores in and around the Santa Monica Mountains for more than two decades, and mountain lions in particular since 2002.
Officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife captured and collared P-76 in Northridge last November.
His body was found Jan. 30 in the Santa Susana Mountains north of Highway 118. The results of a necropsy, which came back only recently, showed he had been exposed to five compounds: the same three as B-372, plus chlorophacinone and difethialone.
P-76 was the third collared mountain lion to die of coagulopathy, or uncontrolled bleeding, in the last two years. His body was found Jan. 30 in the Santa Susana Mountains. (National Park Service)
“These two cases show us that different non-target species are continuing to be exposed to these toxicants, including an array of different poisons, with effects up to and including death from uncontrolled bleeding,” Seth Riley, wildlife branch chief for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said in a statement.
“We are also continuing to see lots of cases of severe mange disease in bobcats in the area. Between poisons, disease and the massive Woolsey Fire, it has been a tough go recently for our wild cats in the park.”