latimes--2020-01-22--Harvey Weinstein trial moves to opening arguments, as chastened mogul finally has his day in court

Eighteen months after he was led into a New York Police Department precinct in handcuffs , opening arguments in Harvey Weinstein ’ s sexual assault trial are expected to begin Wednesday morning .
Manhattan Assistant Dist .
Atty .
Joan Illuzi-Osborn and Chicago attorney Donna Rotunno , who leads Weinstein ’ s defense team , will lay out their cases in a lower Manhattan courtroom sometime after 9:30 a.m. Weinstein , 67 , is charged with first-degree rape , two counts of predatory sexual assault , one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of third-degree rape .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Mimi Haleyi , a former employee of Weinstein ’ s production company , and an alleged 2013 assault against an unidentified woman .
Four other women , including “ Sopranos ” actress Annabella Sciorra , are also expected to testify that Weinstein ’ s attacks followed a similar pattern — the mogul would lure them in with a promise that he could give them roles or film industry jobs , often insisting that a business meeting take place in a hotel room .
Once alone , Weinstein would allegedly either expose himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to some accusers , physically force himself on them .
Weinstein — who co-founded the entertainment firm Miramax that went on to shepherd a number of blockbuster and critically acclaimed films from the 1990s on — has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing , despite allegations of sexual misconduct and outright assault from more than 80 women in several countries .
His legal team , now in its third incarnation since his arrest , has repeatedly claimed the encounters that led to charges in New York were consensual .
One of the unidentified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York is at the center of a criminal case against him in Los Angeles .
The victimhas said Weinstein raped her in a Beverly Hills hotel in 2013 .
The Los Angeles County district attorney ’ s office charged Weinstein with forcible rape , forcible oral copulation , sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint , though the case will not proceed until the New York case is complete .
With little in the way of forensic evidence or independent witnesses expected to be presented , legal experts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ litmus test of the # MeToo movement , with the jury ’ s decision largely coming down to whether or not they find the six women who have agreed to testify more credible than the defense offered by their accused rapist .
Weinstein ’ s legal team has repeatedly tried and failed to have the trial moved out of New York City , citing a “ circus-like atmosphere ” outside the Centre Street courthouse where the case will be heard .
Flash mobs , press conferences from other accusers whose allegations did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by model Gigi Hadid marked the two-week jury selection process .
On Wednesday morning , reporters and spectators could be seen lined up and shivering as the thermometer dipped toward 20 around 4 a.m. hoping to gain access to the courtroom .

Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court for opening statements in his rape and sexual assault trial in New York City.
Harvey Weinstein sat quietly in a packed Manhattan courtroom Wednesday morning listening as prosecutors described the Hollywood titan as a sexual predator who for decades used his influence and imposing stature to overpower women, assault them and force their silence.
Weinstein, 67, is charged in New York with first-degree rape, two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of third-degree rape. The charges stem from the alleged 2006 rape of Mimi Haleyi, a former employee of Weinstein’s production company, and an alleged 2013 assault against another woman.
For the record: An earlier version of this article noted that the Los Angeles Times was not naming one of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers, a woman who had moved to Los Angeles at 25, because she is a rape victim. The woman has made a sexual assault allegation against Weinstein but her claim has not been proved in court.
Over the course of more than an hour Wednesday, Manhattan Assistant Dist. Atty. Meghan Hast laid out for jurors nearly 30 years of Weinstein’s alleged mistreatment of women in often graphic detail.
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“The man seated right there was not just a titan in Hollywood, he was a rapist, sexually assaulting these women when they refused to comply with his desires and his orders and then using his power and prestige in the entertainment industry to ensure their silence,” Hast said during her opening statements.
Weinstein — who co-founded the entertainment firm Miramax that went on to shepherd a number of blockbuster and critically acclaimed films from the 1990s on — has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, despite allegations of sexual misconduct and outright assault from more than 80 women in several countries. His legal team, now in its third incarnation since his arrest 18 months ago, has repeatedly claimed the encounters that led to charges in New York were consensual.
Hast countered their assertion of consent in her scathing opening statements, asserting that Weinstein’s series of abuses began in the early 1990s with the rape of Annabella Sciorra, a young actress from Brooklyn who would later go on to star in “The Sopranos”.
Hast said Weinstein groomed the actress after meeting her at an industry event, strong arming her into playing a role she didn’t want and sending her a care package with Valium, which she began using. Months later, he forced himself into her apartment after giving her a ride home from a New York restaurant and raped her, Hast said.
“She told him to get out. She told him no, but Harvey Weinstein was undeterred,” Hast said. “He left her emotionally and physically destroyed, passed out on the floor of her bedroom.”
After the assault, the prosecutor said, Weinstein forced Sciorra to “live in terror” for decades. Less than a year after the rape, he sought her out in London, where she was filming a movie. He “badgered” her with messages left at the hotel, sent cars for her and even showed up at her room, Hast said.
In 2006, Haleyi was introduced to Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival and soon began working as a production assistant on one of his shows. Over the months that followed, Weinstein pressured her to take trips with him to Paris and Los Angeles. Eventually, Haleyi accepted an invitation to Weinstein’s apartment where he forced oral sex on her, Hast said.
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After the assault, Haleyi did not attend the premiere of Weinstein’s movie “Clerks 2” in Los Angeles and the mogul called her, apparently enraged. This, Hast alleges, was part of the producer’s tactic aimed to keep women silent.
“You will come to see that the defendant kept his rape victims close, as close as he could, to make sure that they wouldn’t report,” Hast told jurors. “Assault, and then immediately reach out, to make sure that his calculations were right, and that he had gotten away with it.”
Weeks after the first assault, Haleyi met Weinstein at a hotel in TriBeCa where he attacked her again, Hast said.
A third woman, whom the Los Angeles Times is not naming because she has said she is a sexual assault victim, moved to Los Angeles at 25 years old hoping to make it in Hollywood. A few years later, in 2013, Hast said the woman was a “starving actress” when she met Weinstein at an industry party.
She accompanied him to a hotel bar to talk, and later a hotel room, where the woman agreed to give him a back massage despite thinking that he was “old enough to be her father, significantly overweight and sloppy looking,” Hast said.
During another meeting, Hast alleges Weinstein grabbed the woman by the arms, pulled her into the bedroom and forced oral sex on her, Hast said.
Hast said the woman tried to have some sort of relationship with Weinstein out of fear that spurning him may harm her career. But, the prosecutor alleges, the attacks continued.
On March 18, 2013, the woman met Weinstein for breakfast at the Doubletree Hotel on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, hoping to introduce a friend from the industry to him. It was her first trip to New York City.
Weinstein checked into a room at the hotel and once inside, undressed her, ordered her onto the bed and raped her, Hast said. Before the attack, the prosecutor added, Weinstein injected himself with some type of erection medication.
He allegedly raped her a second time at a hotel in Los Angeles. After the attack, Weinstein told the woman: “I just find you so attractive, I couldn’t resist you,” Hast told jurors.
With little in the way of forensic evidence or independent witnesses expected to be presented, legal experts believe the case against Weinstein could serve as a litmus test of the #MeToo movement, with the jury’s decision largely coming down to whether or not they find the six women who have agreed to testify more credible than the defense offered by their accused rapist.
Prosecutors are hoping the women’s testimony will show that Weinstein’s attacks followed a pattern — the mogul would lure them in with a promise that he could give them roles or film industry jobs, often insisting that a business meeting take place in a hotel room.
Once alone, Weinstein would allegedly either expose himself to the women, request massages or, according to some accusers, physically force himself on them.
During his opening statements, defense attorney Damon Cheronis tried to portray Weinstein’s relationships with his accusers as consensual, and even in some cases, loving.
Cheronis highlighted some of what he said would be “hundreds” of e-mails, text messages and other exchanges between Weinstein and several of the women who have made claims against him that show them staying in touch with their alleged rapist long after the attacks were said to have taken place.
“If you drown out the noise and you listen to the cross-examinations, you are going to know what Miss Hast told you does not hold water,” he said.
The Chicago attorney displayed a number of seemingly friendly exchanges between Haleyi and Weinstein, including one in 2008, more than two years after she said he sexually assaulted her in his New York apartment.
Cheronis also pointed to a similar exchange involving the unnamed woman who accused Weinstein of assault in New York in 2013, noting that she wrote a number of “notes” on her cell phone, akin to a diary, where she described Weinstein as a “casual boyfriend” long after she was allegedly assaulted by him inside a Manhattan hotel.
Cheronis also pointed to a number of movie premieres the woman attended as Weinstein’s guest after the alleged assault.
“You can lie to the state. You can lie to the police. You can lie to anybody. But you can’t lie to yourself,” he said of her notes.
Prosecutors, and criminal justice experts, have previously scoffed at the line of attack raised by Cheronis, noting that there is not a uniform way rape victims behave after an assault. In the case of Weinstein, the women may have also stayed close to him out of fear of the influence he wielded in their industry, experts have said.
One of the unidentified women expected to testify against Weinstein in New York is at the center of a criminal case against him in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged Weinstein with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint, though the case will not proceed until the New York trial is complete.
Eighteen months ago, Weinstein stood tall as he was led into a New York Police Department precinct in handcuffs. On Wednesday morning —flanked by attorneys — the Hollywood mogul, who recently underwent back surgery, limped into the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building for his first day in court. Someone carried a walker, which Weinstein has used during previous court appearances, for him.
Reporters and spectators lined up, shivering, outside the building hoping to gain access to the courtroom before sunrise as the mercury dipped toward 20 degrees. The 100-seat courtroom was packed full by 9 a.m., with dozens of reporters and members of the public stuck in a hallway waiting in line for a seat to open up.
Weinstein’s legal team has repeatedly tried and failed to have the trial moved out of New York City, citing a “circus-like atmosphere” outside the Centre Street courthouse where the case will be heard. Flash mobs, press conferences from other accusers whose allegations did not result in criminal charges and an appearance by model Gigi Hadid marked the two-week jury selection process.


latimes--2020-01-22--Homeless but not friendless: How a Facebook group supports people on the streets

Evangeline Elmendorf Greene can go an entire day — sometimes more — without speaking to anyone in Santa Fe , N.M .
When she wakes up in the cab of her truck and heads over to the Walmart to wash up , she sees families shopping together and feels alienated from their world of everyday errands and warm beds .
“ I feel like a shadow in the world , ” Greene said .
But when she turns to the glow of her smartphone , Greene has friends at her fingertips .
Some of them she has known for years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of her phone .
They share stories of trying to sleep on cold sidewalks , swabbing down their arms and legs with baby wipes , finding cheap hacks to stay warm or cool .
There are Facebook groups for people who adore betta fish , for mushroom hunters , the newly engaged , engineers , Pilates instructors , cryptocurrency investors , people trying out the keto diet or tracking the aurora borealis .
A Facebook group for homeless people — more than 1,200 members and counting — might be unexpected but no more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among the destitute , who rely on phones and internet access to seek work , housing and other help .
Many have also turned to the internet to ease the isolation and disdain they face on the streets .
In one post , an 18-year-old says she has been homeless since the death of her father .
Within minutes , someone replies “ so sorry for your loss.
” In another post , someone thanks people for checking in after her daughter underwent surgery .
And a woman who had escaped homelessness by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she now had days to get out of her house , after the ex decided to move to Florida .
“ I ’ m terrified at the thought of going to a shelter if I could even find one with available space , no family left alive , no friends to turn to due to years of being controlled and isolated , ” she wrote .
“ I guess my question is how do you continue to fight when you just feel like giving up ?
” she asked .
In Phoenix , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her from succumbing to depression .
“ You can go in there and get reinforcement without anyone trying to shrink you or fix you , ” said Adams , who is now living in an extended stay hotel .
“ They listen .
A lot of people don ’ t listen.
” The online group was launched three years ago by Mark Horvath , who founded the nonprofit Invisible People to change public perceptions of homeless people through storytelling , education and advocacy .
Horvath , who was once homeless in Hollywood , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to provide peer support around the clock .
The ground rules are simple , Horvath said : Treat people with grace and kindness .
Everybody needs to feel safe .
No personal attacks .
No racism .
And no fundraising .
Although the group is meant for homeless and formerly homeless people , it also includes nurses , doctors and social workers who are there to help .
Horvath said in one instance , the group swiftly linked someone in need with a nearby doctor .
In another , a Houston woman reached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to call her while she was walking back to her tent at night .
Wendi Taylor said it was the first time she had walked alone down that poorly lit street after she had survived a sexual assault .
Not long after she posted on the page , a formerly homeless woman called her and stayed on the phone as Taylor walked down a darkened lot , train tracks and a shadowy , wooded area on her way back from Burger King .
“ It was still fresh in my mind , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had shared her story weeks earlier , women in the group soon responded , “ ‘ I never told anyone this , but ... ’ That same story .
Over and over .
“ All of these women coming out and saying how brave I was to tell that story — it made me want to tell everybody , ” Taylor said .
Derrick Soo , one of the moderators for the page , credits the group with preventing two suicides over the holidays .
“ You can reach out to folks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re going to get a response within seconds , ” said Soo , who is formerly homeless and lives in Oakland .
In Phoenix , Adams found the group after Googling something like “ tips on being homeless.
” Her newfound friends recommended buying cans of Vienna sausage and soda crackers to fill her stomach and gave her pointers on retaining heat under a thin blanket .
They also commiserated about traumas , indignities and worries : being doused with water by strangers , weighing how to respond to abuse in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Adams started typing her first post .
“ The not having enough food , I have learned to live with .
It is the being dirty that gets to me , ” she wrote .
She went on to recount losing her job and her apartment , bunking somewhere with no working toilet or stove .
“ I just want to just lay down and die.
” “ I was raised up in the South .
You don ’ t go around broadcasting your problems , ” Adams said in a recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resonant in her drawl .
“ But I had to have somewhere to vent or I wasn ’ t going to make it.
” Trauma is rampant among homeless people : One study of homeless youth found that 57 % of respondents had suffered a traumatic event .
Another survey of homeless seniors in Oakland found that 37 % had been physically or sexually assaulted as minors and 53 % had been victimized as adults .
More than 10 % had been attacked in the previous six months .
Those numbers are “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the general population , said Margot Kushel , director of the UC San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative .
Kushel said the figures show both that homeless people tend to have experienced trauma throughout their lives , and that “ the experience of homelessness is really shattering.
” Tod Gunther turned to the online group as a councilman in his Washington town , where people often came to public meetings or logged onto social media to complain about homeless people being “ criminals and drug addicts and drunkards and losers.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homeless himself , bedding down in shelters and on the street .
“ The last thing I wanted to do was go through the City Council finding out .
I didn ’ t know what would happen , ” said Gunther , who said he spent roughly a year on the streets after a “ personal tragedy ” before getting back into housing .
“ You become a zero .
Few people understand it.
” Soo called cellphones “ one of the most important tools for anybody living unhoused.
” A USC study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ headed into permanent housing in L.A. or Long Beach found that 94 % owned a cellphone , 58 % had a smartphone , and 51 % used their phones to access the internet .
Those rates were not dramatically different than people of the same age in the general population , researchers noted .
USC research associate professor Harmony Rhoades said that modest smartphones can often be affordable if users rely on wifi or federally subsidized internet service , and that the upfront expense for a phone is worthwhile for many homeless people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exit homelessness.
” “ Suppose you get attacked .
How are you going to get a medical response ?
And there are unhoused people that are trying to work .
You have to have a callback number , ” said Theodore Henderson , who lives in a park in L.A. 's Chinatown .
“ And it connects you with something , ” Henderson added .
“ You crave human interaction .
We don ’ t stop being human because we ’ re out here on the street.
” When Victoria Bustamante was panicking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles shelter before another site was available for her and her six children , she made a plea in a live video to the Facebook group , hoping someone could help her finagle an extension .
Bustamante said that Horvath ended up connecting her with the Union Rescue Mission , where she stayed until space opened up at a San Fernando Valley center for women and children .
“ I don ’ t think I would be able to post that video on my regular Facebook .
I don ’ t think people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who said she fled an abusive relationship and became homeless after a landlord refused to let her keep staying with her sister .
After years in shelters and motels , she now has housing through a Section 8 voucher .
Henderson called the Facebook group “ a respite to share our fears and not be castigated.
” When the former schoolteacher ended up living in a park in Chinatown after becoming ill and being evicted from an apartment , he felt crushing shame .
Old friends didn ’ t understand or chided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help themselves , ” he said .
“ Here is a college-educated black man that went to school .
Did everything you ’ re supposed to do , ” Henderson said of himself .
“ And now I ’ m waiting for the bathroom for a sponge bath.
” In the Facebook group , “ I encourage them and they encourage me , ” said Henderson , who hosts a podcast called “ We the Unhoused.
” He started using the term “ unhoused ” because “ homeless ” was often being spat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ The housed community should understand that everybody needs a safe space from the vitriol , ” Henderson said .
“ If we had a supportive society , that wouldn ’ t be necessary .
”

Theodore Henderson, 46, beds down for the night in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Evangeline Elmendorf Greene can go an entire day — sometimes more — without speaking to anyone in Santa Fe, N.M. When she wakes up in the cab of her truck and heads over to the Walmart to wash up, she sees families shopping together and feels alienated from their world of everyday errands and warm beds.
“I feel like a shadow in the world,” Greene said.
But when she turns to the glow of her smartphone, Greene has friends at her fingertips. Some of them she has known for years, but only behind the glassy screen of her phone. They share stories of trying to sleep on cold sidewalks, swabbing down their arms and legs with baby wipes, finding cheap hacks to stay warm or cool.
Former schoolteacher Theodore Henderson was evicted after he became ill, and ended up living in a park in Chinatown. He hosts a podcast called “We the Unhoused,” a term he started using because “homeless” was often being spat at him like a slur, he said. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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There are Facebook groups for people who adore betta fish, for mushroom hunters, the newly engaged, engineers, Pilates instructors, cryptocurrency investors, people trying out the keto diet or tracking the aurora borealis.
A Facebook group for homeless people — more than 1,200 members and counting — might be unexpected but no more strange. Smartphones have become common even among the destitute, who rely on phones and internet access to seek work, housing and other help. Many have also turned to the internet to ease the isolation and disdain they face on the streets.
In one post, an 18-year-old says she has been homeless since the death of her father. Within minutes, someone replies “so sorry for your loss.” In another post, someone thanks people for checking in after her daughter underwent surgery.
PHOTOS: 2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count
And a woman who had escaped homelessness by going back to an abusive ex said she now had days to get out of her house, after the ex decided to move to Florida.
“I’m terrified at the thought of going to a shelter if I could even find one with available space, no family left alive, no friends to turn to due to years of being controlled and isolated,” she wrote.
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“I guess my question is how do you continue to fight when you just feel like giving up?” she asked.
In Phoenix, Jamie Adams said the private group saved her from succumbing to depression.
“You can go in there and get reinforcement without anyone trying to shrink you or fix you,” said Adams, who is now living in an extended stay hotel. “They listen. A lot of people don’t listen.”
Theodore Henderson shares a water balloon with Genevieve Walan, 8, in L.A.’s Chinatown neighborhood. “He is my friend and he is funny,” Genevieve says. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
The online group was launched three years ago by Mark Horvath, who founded the nonprofit Invisible People to change public perceptions of homeless people through storytelling, education and advocacy. Horvath, who was once homeless in Hollywood, wanted to help build an online community to provide peer support around the clock.
The ground rules are simple, Horvath said: Treat people with grace and kindness. Everybody needs to feel safe. No personal attacks. No racism. And no fundraising. Although the group is meant for homeless and formerly homeless people, it also includes nurses, doctors and social workers who are there to help.
Horvath said in one instance, the group swiftly linked someone in need with a nearby doctor. In another, a Houston woman reached out to the group, asking someone to call her while she was walking back to her tent at night.
Wendi Taylor said it was the first time she had walked alone down that poorly lit street after she had survived a sexual assault. Not long after she posted on the page, a formerly homeless woman called her and stayed on the phone as Taylor walked down a darkened lot, train tracks and a shadowy, wooded area on her way back from Burger King.
“It was still fresh in my mind,” Taylor said of her assault. When she had shared her story weeks earlier, women in the group soon responded, “‘I never told anyone this, but ...’ That same story. Over and over.
Children look through games as Theodore Henderson reads in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
“All of these women coming out and saying how brave I was to tell that story — it made me want to tell everybody,” Taylor said.
Derrick Soo, one of the moderators for the page, credits the group with preventing two suicides over the holidays. “You can reach out to folks in the group at any time and you’re going to get a response within seconds,” said Soo, who is formerly homeless and lives in Oakland.
In Phoenix, Adams found the group after Googling something like “tips on being homeless.” Her newfound friends recommended buying cans of Vienna sausage and soda crackers to fill her stomach and gave her pointers on retaining heat under a thin blanket.
They also commiserated about traumas, indignities and worries: being doused with water by strangers, weighing how to respond to abuse in a neighboring tent, surviving sexual assault.
Adams started typing her first post. “The not having enough food, I have learned to live with. It is the being dirty that gets to me,” she wrote. She went on to recount losing her job and her apartment, bunking somewhere with no working toilet or stove. “I just want to just lay down and die.”
“I was raised up in the South. You don’t go around broadcasting your problems,” Adams said in a recent interview, her South Carolina childhood still resonant in her drawl. “But I had to have somewhere to vent or I wasn’t going to make it.”
Trauma is rampant among homeless people: One study of homeless youth found that 57% of respondents had suffered a traumatic event. Another survey of homeless seniors in Oakland found that 37% had been physically or sexually assaulted as minors and 53% had been victimized as adults. More than 10% had been attacked in the previous six months.
Those numbers are “astronomically higher” than among older adults in the general population, said Margot Kushel, director of the UC San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. Kushel said the figures show both that homeless people tend to have experienced trauma throughout their lives, and that “the experience of homelessness is really shattering.”
Tod Gunther turned to the online group as a councilman in his Washington town, where people often came to public meetings or logged onto social media to complain about homeless people being “criminals and drug addicts and drunkards and losers.” None of them knew that he was homeless himself, bedding down in shelters and on the street.
“The last thing I wanted to do was go through the City Council finding out. I didn’t know what would happen,” said Gunther, who said he spent roughly a year on the streets after a “personal tragedy” before getting back into housing. “You become a zero. Few people understand it.”
Soo called cellphones “one of the most important tools for anybody living unhoused.” A USC study of hundreds of homeless adults who were headed into permanent housing in L.A. or Long Beach found that 94% owned a cellphone, 58% had a smartphone, and 51% used their phones to access the internet.
Those rates were not dramatically different than people of the same age in the general population, researchers noted.
USC research associate professor Harmony Rhoades said that modest smartphones can often be affordable if users rely on wifi or federally subsidized internet service, and that the upfront expense for a phone is worthwhile for many homeless people as “a lifeline to help you exit homelessness.”
“Suppose you get attacked. How are you going to get a medical response? And there are unhoused people that are trying to work. You have to have a callback number,” said Theodore Henderson, who lives in a park in L.A.’s Chinatown.
“And it connects you with something,” Henderson added. “You crave human interaction. We don’t stop being human because we’re out here on the street.”
When Victoria Bustamante was panicking about losing her spot in a Los Angeles shelter before another site was available for her and her six children, she made a plea in a live video to the Facebook group, hoping someone could help her finagle an extension.
Bustamante said that Horvath ended up connecting her with the Union Rescue Mission, where she stayed until space opened up at a San Fernando Valley center for women and children.
“I don’t think I would be able to post that video on my regular Facebook. I don’t think people would understand me,” said Bustamante, who said she fled an abusive relationship and became homeless after a landlord refused to let her keep staying with her sister. After years in shelters and motels, she now has housing through a Section 8 voucher.
Henderson called the Facebook group “a respite to share our fears and not be castigated.”
When the former schoolteacher ended up living in a park in Chinatown after becoming ill and being evicted from an apartment, he felt crushing shame. Old friends didn’t understand or chided him that “God helps those who help themselves,” he said.
“Here is a college-educated black man that went to school. Did everything you’re supposed to do,” Henderson said of himself. “And now I’m waiting for the bathroom for a sponge bath.”
In the Facebook group, “I encourage them and they encourage me,” said Henderson, who hosts a podcast called “We the Unhoused.” He started using the term “unhoused” because “homeless” was often being spat at him like a slur, he said.
“The housed community should understand that everybody needs a safe space from the vitriol,” Henderson said. “If we had a supportive society, that wouldn’t be necessary.”


latimes--2020-01-22--Magnitude 3.6 earthquake in Granada Hills shakes up L.A. region

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake centered in Granada Hills struck at 11:41 p.m. Tuesday , causing light shaking throughout the San Fernando Valley and weaker shaking elsewhere in the L.A. area .
Besides the Valley , shaking could be felt in Santa Monica , Marina del Rey , Los Feliz , Silver Lake , the Hollywood Hills , downtown L.A. , the San Gabriel Valley , Santa Clarita and Ventura County .
The Los Angeles Fire Department said there were no early reports of significant damage or injury , but as a standard precaution officials are patrolling the area with vehicles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earthquake was in the area of the Van Norman Lakes Reservoir , near the intersection of the 405 , 5 and 118 freeways .
Van Norman dam was replaced after the magnitude 6.6 Sylmar earthquake in 1971 nearly caused a collapse and forced a sweeping evacuation of 80,000 people ; its replacement dam survived the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake of 1994 with no damage .
Many earthquake faults lie underneath this part of the L.A. region , such as strands of the Sierra Madre fault zone .
An average of five earthquakes with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year in the greater Los Angeles area , according to a recent three-year data sample .
Tuesday night ’ s earthquake occurred at a depth of 4.3 miles .
Did you feel this earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the U.S. Geological Survey .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the “ big one ” is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
The first version of this story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published ; it was later updated by a Times reporter .
If you ’ re interested in learning more about the system , visit our list of frequently asked questions .

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake centered in Granada Hills struck at 11:41 p.m. Tuesday, causing light shaking throughout the San Fernando Valley and weaker shaking elsewhere in the L.A. area.
Besides the Valley, shaking could be felt in Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, the Hollywood Hills, downtown L.A., the San Gabriel Valley, Santa Clarita and Ventura County.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said there were no early reports of significant damage or injury, but as a standard precaution officials are patrolling the area with vehicles and helicopters.
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The epicenter of the earthquake was in the area of the Van Norman Lakes Reservoir, near the intersection of the 405, 5 and 118 freeways. Van Norman dam was replaced after the magnitude 6.6 Sylmar earthquake in 1971 nearly caused a collapse and forced a sweeping evacuation of 80,000 people; its replacement dam survived the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake of 1994 with no damage.
Many earthquake faults lie underneath this part of the L.A. region, such as strands of the Sierra Madre fault zone.
An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes from 3.0 to 4.0 occur per year in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three-year data sample. Tuesday night’s earthquake occurred at a depth of 4.3 miles.
Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the “big one” is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
The first version of this story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published; it was later updated by a Times reporter. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-01-22--Oakland bans criminal background checks on potential tenants

The Oakland City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that would prohibit landlords from asking about a potential tenant ’ s criminal history or rejecting them out of hand for having a record .
Council members voted unanimously to pass the Fair Chance Access to Housing Ordinance , which supporters say will help ensure ex-cons can find secure housing instead of ending up on the streets .
The Berkeley City Council is expected to vote on a similar measure in February and supporters plan to start work shortly on similar measures in Emeryville and Alameda County .
Oakland ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the state , covering both public and private housing .
A measure in neighboring San Francisco covers only affordable housing while Richmond ’ s covers publicly subsidized affordable housing and nonprofit housing .
“ This ordinance is about making sure returning community members have equal opportunities they deserve to successfully reintegrate into our community , and this begins with a roof over your head , ” said Oakland council member Nikki Fortunato Bas , who cosponsored the measure with council member Dan Kalb and Vice Mayor Larry Reid .
The measure prohibits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his or her prior conviction or from requiring disclosure of a criminal history in background checks .
Landlords will have six months to adapt to the law .
After that , they could face fines of up to $ 1,000 for each violation .
Background checks are a standard part of applying for an apartment , and applicants with a criminal record often are denied .
That can make it next to impossible for those who have been incarcerated to find housing , especially in the Bay Area ’ s tight housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the group Legal Services for Prisoners with Children said the ordinance could change his life .
He spent three decades behind bars for second-degree murder and was released from prison three years ago but at times had to live in his car for lack of a place to stay .
“ I was born and raised in Oakland , ” Bonner said , according to the San Francisco Chronicle .
“ I am employed in Oakland .
I own and drive a vehicle in Oakland .
However , I can not live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record , which happened 30 years ago.
“ The Oakland ordinance does have some exemptions for single-family homes , duplexes , triplexes and in-law units if the owner is living on the property .
Likewise , tenants seeking to add or replace a roommate would be exempt .
Also exempt are owners of government-subsidized affordable housing , including federally subsidized Section 8 units , who are required to exclude certain renters based on their criminal records .
The federal government requires landlords to reject potential tenants who have been convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lifetime sex offender registry .

The Oakland City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that would prohibit landlords from asking about a potential tenant’s criminal history or rejecting them out of hand for having a record.
Council members voted unanimously to pass the Fair Chance Access to Housing Ordinance, which supporters say will help ensure ex-cons can find secure housing instead of ending up on the streets. The Berkeley City Council is expected to vote on a similar measure in February and supporters plan to start work shortly on similar measures in Emeryville and Alameda County.
Oakland’s ordinance is the strictest of its kind in the state, covering both public and private housing.
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A measure in neighboring San Francisco covers only affordable housing while Richmond’s covers publicly subsidized affordable housing and nonprofit housing.
“This ordinance is about making sure returning community members have equal opportunities they deserve to successfully reintegrate into our community, and this begins with a roof over your head,” said Oakland council member Nikki Fortunato Bas, who cosponsored the measure with council member Dan Kalb and Vice Mayor Larry Reid.
The measure prohibits landlords from rejecting a potential tenant because of his or her prior conviction or from requiring disclosure of a criminal history in background checks. Landlords will have six months to adapt to the law. After that, they could face fines of up to $1,000 for each violation.
Background checks are a standard part of applying for an apartment, and applicants with a criminal record often are denied. That can make it next to impossible for those who have been incarcerated to find housing, especially in the Bay Area’s tight housing market.
Lee “Taqwaa” Bonner of the group Legal Services for Prisoners with Children said the ordinance could change his life. He spent three decades behind bars for second-degree murder and was released from prison three years ago but at times had to live in his car for lack of a place to stay.
“I was born and raised in Oakland,” Bonner said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “I am employed in Oakland. I own and drive a vehicle in Oakland. However, I cannot live in Oakland based solely on my criminal record, which happened 30 years ago.“
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The Oakland ordinance does have some exemptions for single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes and in-law units if the owner is living on the property. Likewise, tenants seeking to add or replace a roommate would be exempt.
Also exempt are owners of government-subsidized affordable housing, including federally subsidized Section 8 units, who are required to exclude certain renters based on their criminal records. The federal government requires landlords to reject potential tenants who have been convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine or are on the state’s lifetime sex offender registry.


latimes--2020-01-21--Column: A county-owned homeless service center in the old St. Vincent hospital? It just might happen

Sometimes the wheels grind slowly in the halls of power , but L.A. County supervisors approved a plan Tuesday afternoon to waste no time preparing a bid to buy St. Vincent Medical Center and turn it into a homeless services center .
Supervisor Hilda Solis , citing the county ’ s growing crisis — on the same day the latest homeless count was set to begin — introduced a motion calling on the county to enter the bidding process once the hospital clears bankruptcy court proceedings .
And the groundwork was already being laid by Sachi Hamai , the county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I want to move forward swiftly , ” said Hamai , adding that she would favor a cash purchase rather than a lease or rental agreement .
The current owners have asked for bidders to move quickly , submitting proposals by Feb. 7 .
Solis asked staff to explore the best way for the county to fund a bid for the property and pull together a proposed purchase plan by next week , so the supervisors can keep things moving .
I first wrote about St. Vincent a week ago , when reader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saw news that the hospital had been given permission by a bankruptcy judge to cease operation .
With so many homeless encampments nearby , McVerry said , why not repurpose the hospital ?
The day of that column I heard from L.A. City Councilman Mitch O ’ Farrell , who said he had been thinking about that very idea , and he introduced a council resolution to explore all options two days later .
And then I spoke to Solis , who sent me a draft of her county motion Friday evening .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more accustomed to hearing public officials call for blue ribbon panels and six-month feasibility studies , which are often ways to put off doing anything at all .
So the momentum here is refreshing , even though we ’ re early in the process , with a lot of work to be done and no guarantee the county will get what it ’ s after .
But at this point , with roughly 60,000 homeless people in the county and a critical shortage of virtually every type of short- and long-term housing as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there ’ s no time to sit around talking about what to do .
This is the time to move quickly , be creative , and take advantage of existing resources such as unused or underutilized buildings around the county .
It ’ s been taking years and costing a small fortune to build new supportive housing , so taking full advantage of a 366-bed hospital that doesn ’ t require major renovation to produce immediate benefits is a no-brainer .
Especially when the county is recording three homeless deaths every day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ St. Vincent , having made an offer to buy the venerable facility at 3rd and Alvarado streets last year , only to lose out to a higher bidder .
“ The county ’ s intent is not to operate SVMC as a hospital , ” Solis said in her motion , but to partner with private or non-profit organizations and provide an array of homeless services .
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said the services could include a behavioral health center , recuperative care beds and a sobering center .
He said one goal might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alternative to incarceration , and “ that would be much more cost effective ” and have better outcomes than locking people up .
At the moment , several thousand people with mental illness are in county jails .
“ This is one heck of an opportunity .
Let ’ s take advantage of it , ” Ridley-Thomas said Tuesday in endorsing the Solis motion , which won unanimous approval .
Of course , there ’ s still the money hurdle .
It ’ s not yet clear what the hospital will cost , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ status will lower the price .
Hamai and others are exploring funding sources and may see if the state can help out .
I say , hit the feds up , too .
President Trump says he wants to help solve homelessness on the West Coast , and here ’ s a great opportunity to put some money behind the lip-flapping .
The hospital , which dates back a century and a half and was run for decades by the Daughters of Charity , once had about 1,000 employees , many of whom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hospital gradually scaled back its operations .
Solis said she wants the county to find ways to assist the remaining employees rather than just cutting them loose .
And maybe some can be retrained and stay put .
St. Vincent is owned by Verity Health System , which took the hospital into bankruptcy in 2018 .
As I wrote last week , the creditors include the hospital system ’ s former management company , Integrity Healthcare , which is controlled by entrepreneur-physician Patrick Soon-Shiong ’ s company NantWorks .
Soon-Shiong also owns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s long-standing challenge , local sources told me , was that it operated essentially as a charity hospital , with many low-income patients and public reimbursement rates that didn ’ t cover the cost of their care .
It seems unlikely , those sources said , that another company would risk making a run at continuing to operate St. Vincent as a conventional hospital .
But if the county can get hold of the property , the potential to do something creative is immense .
There ’ s room and equipment for medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and a large , separate office building that could be used for staff and administration .
With the right leadership and design , St. Vincent could become a model for multifaceted homeless care .
And O ’ Farrell wants to explore permanent supportive housing on a vacant lot to the west of the hospital , near a current building of senior housing and not far from the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels headquarters .
The scuttlebutt on the homeless count , set to begin Tuesday night , is that the numbers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The tally won ’ t be known for many weeks .
But if , as expected , the count spikes — and even if it remains at roughly the same level — there ’ s going to be even greater public pressure for those in charge to come up with answers .
St. Vincent should be one of them .

Los Angeles County is preparing a bid to buy St. Vincent Medical Center and use it to provide services to the homeless.
Sometimes the wheels grind slowly in the halls of power, but L.A. County supervisors approved a plan Tuesday afternoon to waste no time preparing a bid to buy St. Vincent Medical Center and turn it into a homeless services center.
Supervisor Hilda Solis, citing the county’s growing crisis — on the same day the latest homeless count was set to begin — introduced a motion calling on the county to enter the bidding process once the hospital clears bankruptcy court proceedings. And the groundwork was already being laid by Sachi Hamai, the county’s chief executive officer.
“I want to move forward swiftly,” said Hamai, adding that she would favor a cash purchase rather than a lease or rental agreement.
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The current owners have asked for bidders to move quickly, submitting proposals by Feb. 7. Solis asked staff to explore the best way for the county to fund a bid for the property and pull together a proposed purchase plan by next week, so the supervisors can keep things moving.
I first wrote about St. Vincent a week ago, when reader Patricia McVerry contacted me to say she saw news that the hospital had been given permission by a bankruptcy judge to cease operation. With so many homeless encampments nearby, McVerry said, why not repurpose the hospital?
The day of that column I heard from L.A. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who said he had been thinking about that very idea, and he introduced a council resolution to explore all options two days later. And then I spoke to Solis, who sent me a draft of her county motion Friday evening.
To be honest, I’m more accustomed to hearing public officials call for blue ribbon panels and six-month feasibility studies, which are often ways to put off doing anything at all. So the momentum here is refreshing, even though we’re early in the process, with a lot of work to be done and no guarantee the county will get what it’s after.
But at this point, with roughly 60,000 homeless people in the county and a critical shortage of virtually every type of short- and long-term housing as well as medical care and addiction rehab, there’s no time to sit around talking about what to do.
L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said St. Vincent can be repurposed to provide homeless services such as a behavioral health center, recuperative care beds and a sobering center. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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This is the time to move quickly, be creative, and take advantage of existing resources such as unused or underutilized buildings around the county.
It’s been taking years and costing a small fortune to build new supportive housing, so taking full advantage of a 366-bed hospital that doesn’t require major renovation to produce immediate benefits is a no-brainer. Especially when the county is recording three homeless deaths every day.
The county is intimately familiar with St. Vincent, having made an offer to buy the venerable facility at 3rd and Alvarado streets last year, only to lose out to a higher bidder.
“The county’s intent is not to operate SVMC as a hospital,” Solis said in her motion, but to partner with private or non-profit organizations and provide an array of homeless services.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said the services could include a behavioral health center, recuperative care beds and a sobering center. He said one goal might be for the services to be an alternative to incarceration, and “that would be much more cost effective” and have better outcomes than locking people up.
At the moment, several thousand people with mental illness are in county jails.
“This is one heck of an opportunity. Let’s take advantage of it,” Ridley-Thomas said Tuesday in endorsing the Solis motion, which won unanimous approval.
Of course, there’s still the money hurdle. It’s not yet clear what the hospital will cost, although county officials are hoping the bankruptcy status will lower the price. Hamai and others are exploring funding sources and may see if the state can help out. I say, hit the feds up, too. President Trump says he wants to help solve homelessness on the West Coast, and here’s a great opportunity to put some money behind the lip-flapping.
California L.A. announced more ‘sensitive’ cleanups for homeless camps. Now it’s taking a harder line Last summer, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city would take a more “sensitive approach” to clearing trash and filth around homeless encampments. Now, sanitation officials say they are making adjustments to that system, including planning for police presence at some cleanup sites.
The hospital, which dates back a century and a half and was run for decades by the Daughters of Charity, once had about 1,000 employees, many of whom have retired or found other jobs as the hospital gradually scaled back its operations. Solis said she wants the county to find ways to assist the remaining employees rather than just cutting them loose. And maybe some can be retrained and stay put.
St. Vincent is owned by Verity Health System, which took the hospital into bankruptcy in 2018. As I wrote last week, the creditors include the hospital system’s former management company, Integrity Healthcare, which is controlled by entrepreneur-physician Patrick Soon-Shiong’s company NantWorks. Soon-Shiong also owns the L.A. Times.
St. Vincent’s long-standing challenge, local sources told me, was that it operated essentially as a charity hospital, with many low-income patients and public reimbursement rates that didn’t cover the cost of their care. It seems unlikely, those sources said, that another company would risk making a run at continuing to operate St. Vincent as a conventional hospital.
But if the county can get hold of the property, the potential to do something creative is immense. There’s room and equipment for medical care, spaces designed for residential care, and a large, separate office building that could be used for staff and administration.
L.A. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell is among those pushing to make St. Vincent a place to house the homeless. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
With the right leadership and design, St. Vincent could become a model for multifaceted homeless care. And O’Farrell wants to explore permanent supportive housing on a vacant lot to the west of the hospital, near a current building of senior housing and not far from the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels headquarters.
The scuttlebutt on the homeless count, set to begin Tuesday night, is that the numbers are likely to go up rather than down. The tally won’t be known for many weeks.
But if, as expected, the count spikes — and even if it remains at roughly the same level — there’s going to be even greater public pressure for those in charge to come up with answers.
St. Vincent should be one of them.


latimes--2020-01-21--L.A. County supervisors approve subpoena authority in power struggle with sheriff

Since Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva took office more than a year ago , his department ’ s chief watchdog has said it ’ s been blocked from obtaining internal records needed to monitor the agency .
Now , the Board of Supervisors is ramping up authority to force the issue , voting unanimously Tuesday to grant the Civilian Oversight Commission subpoena power at a time of heightened tensions between the law enforcement agency and those who oversee it .
The tool will allow the commission to direct the Office of Inspector General to compel records from the Sheriff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The office has said it ’ s been stonewalled when seeking information about the agency ’ s internal discipline system and hiring process , as well as documents related to secret deputy cliques with matching tattoos that have been accused of misconduct .
“ It ’ s a good tool to have in the toolbox , ” Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said .
The goal , said Supervisor Kathryn Barger , is for the Sheriff ’ s Department to comply with information requests so that the commission doesn ’ t have to resort to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to all be on the same team , ” she said .
A county attorney said the Sheriff ’ s Department could challenge in court any subpoena it feels is overly broad or otherwise illegal .
The Sheriff ’ s Department said Tuesday that Villanueva was unavailable for an interview .
But at the meeting , Asst .
Sheriff Steve Gross said increasing the inspector general ’ s power could harm investigations and would pit county departments against one another .
The board ’ s move followed a particularly contentious public meeting last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laid out more than a year ’ s worth of transparency problems for the commission .
Requests his office makes for information under the county code are repeatedly ignored , he said .
Early on , Huntsman said , he had asked for the text of proposed changes to policies and information about prior disciplinary actions the sheriff intended to review , but did not receive an answer .
“ The question is , is the county code being complied with ?
The answer is no , ” Huntsman told the commission .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ always operated in a very secretive manner .
And oversight is in part about trying to lift that veil back.
” Gross said at the meeting last week that he would consult with an attorney before responding to Huntsman ’ s allegations that the Sheriff ’ s Department was breaking the law .
“ I personally had high hopes for this year , I think this is a tough way for us to start out , ” Gross said .
In response , Huntsman noted that the Sheriff ’ s Department is criminally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obtained internal records .
“ Have I cowered in the corner ?
I have not .
Nor will I , ” Huntsman said .
“ And you won ’ t be hearing from my lawyer , you ’ ll be hearing from me.
” Sean Kennedy , a Loyola Law School professor and member of the commission , questioned the Sheriff ’ s Department ’ s claim that records have been withheld to protect the integrity of criminal investigations .
The real reason for the secrecy “ is self-protection , or a reflexive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ I hope that subpoena power will be the answer.
” In a letter to the commission ’ s executive director Friday , Villanueva said he planned to keep his staff from attending future meetings until the commission addressed their treatment .
His representatives , he wrote , were “ insulted , accused of alleged improper conduct , subjected to foul language , and generally subjected to disrespectful behavior primarily by Mr. Huntsman and the public with no interference by anyone to mitigate this treatment.
” He said he ’ d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Sheriff ’ s Department and send a non-uniformed staff member to observe .
Villanueva alleged that commission ’ s monthly meetings have become a forum to attack the agency instead of “ create a bridge ” with the community .
On Tuesday , Brian Williams , executive director of the commission , said it ’ s crucial that the Sheriff ’ s Department participate in the meetings .
“ If we want to make this system better , it ’ s going to require the engagement of everyone involved .
To disengage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said .
“ Democracy isn ’ t always genteel and nice.
” The inspector general and commission are among a number of watchdogs raising concerns about what they see as a lack of transparency within the Sheriff ’ s Department .
A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California contends that the department is violating state law by refusing to release records related to deputy shootings .

Since Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva took office more than a year ago, his department’s chief watchdog has said it’s been blocked from obtaining internal records needed to monitor the agency.
Now, the Board of Supervisors is ramping up authority to force the issue, voting unanimously Tuesday to grant the Civilian Oversight Commission subpoena power at a time of heightened tensions between the law enforcement agency and those who oversee it.
The tool will allow the commission to direct the Office of Inspector General to compel records from the Sheriff’s Department when deemed necessary. The office has said it’s been stonewalled when seeking information about the agency’s internal discipline system and hiring process, as well as documents related to secret deputy cliques with matching tattoos that have been accused of misconduct.
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“It’s a good tool to have in the toolbox,” Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said.
The goal, said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, is for the Sheriff’s Department to comply with information requests so that the commission doesn’t have to resort to subpoenas.
“We’re supposed to all be on the same team,” she said.
A county attorney said the Sheriff’s Department could challenge in court any subpoena it feels is overly broad or otherwise illegal.
The Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday that Villanueva was unavailable for an interview. But at the meeting, Asst. Sheriff Steve Gross said increasing the inspector general’s power could harm investigations and would pit county departments against one another.
The board’s move followed a particularly contentious public meeting last week in which Inspector General Max Huntsman laid out more than a year’s worth of transparency problems for the commission. Requests his office makes for information under the county code are repeatedly ignored, he said.
Early on, Huntsman said, he had asked for the text of proposed changes to policies and information about prior disciplinary actions the sheriff intended to review, but did not receive an answer.
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“The question is, is the county code being complied with? The answer is no,” Huntsman told the commission. “The Sheriff’s Department has always operated in a very secretive manner. And oversight is in part about trying to lift that veil back.”
Gross said at the meeting last week that he would consult with an attorney before responding to Huntsman’s allegations that the Sheriff’s Department was breaking the law.
“I personally had high hopes for this year, I think this is a tough way for us to start out,” Gross said.
In response, Huntsman noted that the Sheriff’s Department is criminally investigating his office over allegations it unlawfully obtained internal records.
“Have I cowered in the corner? I have not. Nor will I,” Huntsman said. “And you won’t be hearing from my lawyer, you’ll be hearing from me.”
Sean Kennedy, a Loyola Law School professor and member of the commission, questioned the Sheriff’s Department’s claim that records have been withheld to protect the integrity of criminal investigations.
The real reason for the secrecy “is self-protection, or a reflexive resistance to civilian oversight,” Kennedy said. “I hope that subpoena power will be the answer.”
In a letter to the commission’s executive director Friday, Villanueva said he planned to keep his staff from attending future meetings until the commission addressed their treatment.
His representatives, he wrote, were “insulted, accused of alleged improper conduct, subjected to foul language, and generally subjected to disrespectful behavior primarily by Mr. Huntsman and the public with no interference by anyone to mitigate this treatment.”
He said he’d opt instead to have county counsel represent the Sheriff’s Department and send a non-uniformed staff member to observe.
Villanueva alleged that commission’s monthly meetings have become a forum to attack the agency instead of “create a bridge” with the community.
On Tuesday, Brian Williams, executive director of the commission, said it’s crucial that the Sheriff’s Department participate in the meetings.
“If we want to make this system better, it’s going to require the engagement of everyone involved. To disengage from that is fundamentally a problem,” he said. “Democracy isn’t always genteel and nice.”
The inspector general and commission are among a number of watchdogs raising concerns about what they see as a lack of transparency within the Sheriff’s Department.
A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California contends that the department is violating state law by refusing to release records related to deputy shootings.


latimes--2020-01-21--L.A. announced more 'sensitive' cleanups for homeless camps. Now it's taking a harder line

Last summer , Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared that the city was launching a new system to clean up the trash and filth around homeless encampments , calling it “ an even more nimble , flexible , targeted and sensitive approach.
” But the Comprehensive Cleaning and Rapid Engagement system — known as CARE — quickly spurred concerns at City Hall .
Just months after Garcetti and other officials heralded its rollout , some council members lamented that streets looked worse than before .
Council President Nury Martinez said that L.A. must lead with compassion , but “ we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ streets.
” Sanitation officials said Tuesday that they were ushering in numerous changes , including planning for police presence at cleanup sites with “ documented histories of escalation or aggressive or confrontational behavior ” and giving council members more control over which areas are cleaned and how often .
They also said that all cleanup teams would “ fully enforce ” municipal rules that limit the quantity of items that can be kept on the street if people refuse to voluntarily comply , after council members complained that some workers appeared too hesitant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the latest turn in a long-standing battle at City Hall over how Los Angeles should handle cleanups .
Garcetti and council members have faced mounting frustration about trash as tens of thousands of people sleep on city streets .
But homeless people and their advocates have urged the city not to haul off things they need for survival .
“ In a city where three unhoused people die per day , it ’ s irresponsible and , frankly , is life-threatening to continue these strong enforcement policies , ” said Nicolas Emmons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for All , at Tuesday ’ s meeting .
Street Watch L.A. organizer Tommy Kelly excoriated council members , saying that after a brief rollout , “ you throw up your hands and said , ‘ Oh well , guess we have to go back to sweeping everything and terrorizing people.
’ Because that ’ s what this policy is.
” The CARE program was initially seen as a step forward by groups in the Services Not Sweeps coalition , which had pushed to overhaul cleanups .
It would send the same teams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowing workers to build trust with people on the streets , and bring out more trash bins and mobile bathrooms .
When the new system was launched in October , outreach workers from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority started regularly embedding with sanitation teams during cleanups .
The homeless services agency told its workers the goal was to shift the focus away from strict enforcement of Municipal Code 56.11 , which limits what people can have on the street , and move it toward “ improved public health outcomes and supporting unhoused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presentation .
Outreach workers would “ be the first point of contact ” with homeless people .
In an October email to sanitation officials , first obtained by blogger Adrian Riskin , a Garcetti aide said there had been concerns about “ extremely lenient enforcement , ” mentioning that she had heard that some teams believed they had to visit an encampment five times before cracking down on trash or bulky items .
In November , CARE program supervisors attended another city training where they were told that sanitation workers were the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be tossed out and that “ compliance should be achieved on the first visit.
” In December , council members sharply criticized the program at a committee meeting .
“ The fact that we haven ’ t done enough outreach does not give anyone — whether they ’ re housed or unhoused — the right to violate the law and to make our neighborhoods less sanitary , ” Councilman Paul Krekorian said in December .
Councilman Mitch O ’ Farrell complained that decisions about where to clean had sidestepped his office .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Buscaino argued that police officers should be automatically deployed with the teams , rather than being on call , in order to protect workers and maximize the hours allocated for cleanups .
If police are not there and cleanup crews are facing a “ combative individual , they will take a step back and move on , ” Buscaino said .
“ And when you move on and don ’ t address the issue , the trash will pile up.
” At the corner of 3rd and Main streets downtown , Anthony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bicycle Tuesday as his dog Gunner slumped in their tent .
He said he regularly loses his belongings during cleanups — sometimes clothing , sometimes his insulin .
“ They give you 30 minutes to pack up your belongings .
They will throw all your stuff out , ” Angel said , complaining that police “ are there to be the bullies.
” The Los Angeles Police Department ’ s homeless coordinator , Cmdr .
Don Graham , said police are not being called out by CARE very often , pegging the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ December and lower in other months .
Graham argued that low rate was a sign that city workers were building ties with homeless people that reduced the need for police intervention .
Before the program was begun , Services Not Sweeps activists had protested the fact that police officers would still be involved in cleanups at all , arguing that it undermined outreach .
Jed Parriott , a Street Watch L.A. organizer , said that over time , the focus of the program seemed to have shifted back toward enforcing city rules , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We all want trash picked up .
I don ’ t want to see needles on the sidewalk either .
But the answer is trash pickup and sharps containers , ” Parriott said .
“ Throwing out everyone ’ s stuff again will not do anything.
” Some said the city had effectively rolled back the program already .
“ It is exactly the same ” as before , said one homeless services provider , who declined to be named because she lacked authorization to speak publicly .
“ Except that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ damaging outreach on the whole.
” Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar said that despite such remarks , the November training “ was not the result of any changes to the program , ” calling it “ a quality control measure to ensure everyone understands their roles.
” Sanitation officials said that starting this week , there will be several adjustments to the citywide program : Police officers , who have been deployed in the same zones as cleanup teams so sanitation workers could call for help , will now be sent out with cleanup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have safety concerns .
Council offices will now have more control over which areas are cleaned up .
And cleanup teams will “ fully enforce ” 56.11 at every site they visit , ensuring that bulky or hazardous items are impounded and thrown away , sanitation officials said in a report .
Despite the complaints , sanitation officials said the CARE program had doubled the number of cleanups performed monthly in Los Angeles .
Krekorian said Tuesday that although he had voiced concerns , a “ softer touch ” had generally worked in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had gotten trash cans and were keeping their encampments tidier than before .
The downside of that softer touch , he said , was “ inconsistent messaging ” about what people could keep with them on the streets .
Still , Krekorian said , “ I think we ’ re getting closer to the right balance .
”

A man moves his belongings back to the sidewalk on 1st Street in downtown Los Angeles after a cleanup in October.
Last summer, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared that the city was launching a new system to clean up the trash and filth around homeless encampments, calling it “an even more nimble, flexible, targeted and sensitive approach.”
But the Comprehensive Cleaning and Rapid Engagement system — known as CARE — quickly spurred concerns at City Hall. Just months after Garcetti and other officials heralded its rollout, some council members lamented that streets looked worse than before. Council President Nury Martinez said that L.A. must lead with compassion, but “we also have to restore order in our streets.”
Sanitation officials said Tuesday that they were ushering in numerous changes, including planning for police presence at cleanup sites with “documented histories of escalation or aggressive or confrontational behavior” and giving council members more control over which areas are cleaned and how often.
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They also said that all cleanup teams would “fully enforce” municipal rules that limit the quantity of items that can be kept on the street if people refuse to voluntarily comply, after council members complained that some workers appeared too hesitant to crack down.
The move marks the latest turn in a long-standing battle at City Hall over how Los Angeles should handle cleanups.
Garcetti and council members have faced mounting frustration about trash as tens of thousands of people sleep on city streets. But homeless people and their advocates have urged the city not to haul off things they need for survival.
“In a city where three unhoused people die per day, it’s irresponsible and, frankly, is life-threatening to continue these strong enforcement policies,” said Nicolas Emmons, a member of the advocacy group KTown for All, at Tuesday’s meeting.
Street Watch L.A. organizer Tommy Kelly excoriated council members, saying that after a brief rollout, “you throw up your hands and said, ‘Oh well, guess we have to go back to sweeping everything and terrorizing people.’ Because that’s what this policy is.”
The CARE program was initially seen as a step forward by groups in the Services Not Sweeps coalition, which had pushed to overhaul cleanups.
It would send the same teams to the same neighborhoods over time, allowing workers to build trust with people on the streets, and bring out more trash bins and mobile bathrooms. When the new system was launched in October, outreach workers from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority started regularly embedding with sanitation teams during cleanups.
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The homeless services agency told its workers the goal was to shift the focus away from strict enforcement of Municipal Code 56.11, which limits what people can have on the street, and move it toward “improved public health outcomes and supporting unhoused Angelenos,” according to a September presentation. Outreach workers would “be the first point of contact” with homeless people.
Within weeks, CARE was facing complaints.
In an October email to sanitation officials, first obtained by blogger Adrian Riskin, a Garcetti aide said there had been concerns about “extremely lenient enforcement,” mentioning that she had heard that some teams believed they had to visit an encampment five times before cracking down on trash or bulky items.
In November, CARE program supervisors attended another city training where they were told that sanitation workers were the only people with the power to decide what would be tossed out and that “compliance should be achieved on the first visit.” In December, council members sharply criticized the program at a committee meeting.
“The fact that we haven’t done enough outreach does not give anyone — whether they’re housed or unhoused — the right to violate the law and to make our neighborhoods less sanitary,” Councilman Paul Krekorian said in December.
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell complained that decisions about where to clean had sidestepped his office. And in a later interview, Councilman Joe Buscaino argued that police officers should be automatically deployed with the teams, rather than being on call, in order to protect workers and maximize the hours allocated for cleanups.
If police are not there and cleanup crews are facing a “combative individual, they will take a step back and move on,” Buscaino said. “And when you move on and don’t address the issue, the trash will pile up.”
At the corner of 3rd and Main streets downtown, Anthony Angel tinkered with the red frame of a bicycle Tuesday as his dog Gunner slumped in their tent. He said he regularly loses his belongings during cleanups — sometimes clothing, sometimes his insulin.
“They give you 30 minutes to pack up your belongings. They will throw all your stuff out,” Angel said, complaining that police “are there to be the bullies.”
The Los Angeles Police Department’s homeless coordinator, Cmdr. Don Graham, said police are not being called out by CARE very often, pegging the rate at 8.2% of cleanups in December and lower in other months. Graham argued that low rate was a sign that city workers were building ties with homeless people that reduced the need for police intervention.
Before the program was begun, Services Not Sweeps activists had protested the fact that police officers would still be involved in cleanups at all, arguing that it undermined outreach. Jed Parriott, a Street Watch L.A. organizer, said that over time, the focus of the program seemed to have shifted back toward enforcing city rules, with outreach taking a back seat.
“We all want trash picked up. I don’t want to see needles on the sidewalk either. But the answer is trash pickup and sharps containers,” Parriott said. “Throwing out everyone’s stuff again will not do anything.”
Some said the city had effectively rolled back the program already.
“It is exactly the same” as before, said one homeless services provider, who declined to be named because she lacked authorization to speak publicly. “Except that we’re present. It ends up damaging outreach on the whole.”
Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar said that despite such remarks, the November training “was not the result of any changes to the program,” calling it “a quality control measure to ensure everyone understands their roles.”
Sanitation officials said that starting this week, there will be several adjustments to the citywide program: Police officers, who have been deployed in the same zones as cleanup teams so sanitation workers could call for help, will now be sent out with cleanup teams at any sites where city officials have safety concerns.
Council offices will now have more control over which areas are cleaned up. And cleanup teams will “fully enforce” 56.11 at every site they visit, ensuring that bulky or hazardous items are impounded and thrown away, sanitation officials said in a report.
Despite the complaints, sanitation officials said the CARE program had doubled the number of cleanups performed monthly in Los Angeles.
Krekorian said Tuesday that although he had voiced concerns, a “softer touch” had generally worked in his Valley district, where homeless people had gotten trash cans and were keeping their encampments tidier than before.
The downside of that softer touch, he said, was “inconsistent messaging” about what people could keep with them on the streets. Still, Krekorian said, “I think we’re getting closer to the right balance.”
Times staff writer Benjamin Oreskes contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-01-21--California could become America's sports betting capital as rival groups eye November ballot

Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court removed legal barriers to sports betting , California voters could be asked in November to join 14 other states in allowing legal wagers on athletic contests , creating a lucrative industry worth billions of dollars and intense competition among rival gambling interests in the state .
On Tuesday , a coalition of 18 Native American tribes was given approval to begin circulating petitions for a statewide ballot initiative that would allow sports betting at tribal casinos and horse racing tracks , but not at rival card clubs or on the internet .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ensure sports wagering is restricted to adults over 21 at highly regulated and experienced locations , ” said Mark Macarro , tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians , which operates a casino in Temecula .
“ The measure will also result in new revenue for mental health programs and vital services like public safety and education.
” Card clubs vowed to campaign against the tribal casino proposal and instead support another ballot measure being considered by the California Legislature that would apply to a larger group of gambling interests .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ legalized gambling three times — first through the creation of a statewide lottery in 1984 , then by authorizing tribal casino operations with ballot measures approved in 1998 and 2000 .
The stakes are high both for the state and companies that might be licensed to offer sports betting , said Assemblyman Adam Gray ( D-Merced ) , a leading proponent for legalized sports betting and chairman of the powerful Assembly Governmental Organization Committee .
A legal sports betting market could bring in $ 2.5 billion in gross revenue annually in California , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to Chris Grove , a managing director for Eilers and Krejcik Gambling LLC , a research and consulting firm that has provided estimates to California lawmakers .
The market could generate $ 250 million to $ 500 million in tax revenue for the state based on whether the tax rate is 10 % or 20 % , Gray said .
“ It is clear that we are quickly heading in the direction of a well-thought-out , legal sports betting framework here in California , ” Gray said at a hearing earlier this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this framework to ensure regulatory oversight and provide consumer protections to get this long-standing and emerging activity out of the shadows of the illicit or black market.
” A national wave of new gambling laws was triggered by a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a federal prohibition on sports wagering .
Betting on football , baseball and other sports is allowed in 14 states , including Nevada , New Jersey and Pennsylvania .
In response to the court decision , Gray and state Sen. Bill Dodd ( D-Napa ) have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot as early as November to allow sports betting .
To make the ballot , lawmakers have until late June to overcome the divisions in the state gambling industry over how to allow sports betting , and groups such as professional sports leagues and law enforcement are already weighing in .
California is home to the most professional sports teams in the nation , including four National Basketball Assn .
teams and three National Football League franchises , as well as powerhouse university teams from UCLA and USC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
and Major League Baseball have told lawmakers that they are supportive of the concept of a constitutional amendment , but want to make sure any new system protects consumers and the integrity of the games .
“ Our view is that sports betting properly regulated can have benefits to bring betting out of the shadows and into the sunlight , to give us tools to allow us to monitor betting on our games and to protect the fans who bet on sports , ” said Dan Spillane , senior vice president and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this month ’ s hearing at the state Capitol .
Pro league representatives said any system should include consumer protections , including the vetting of operators , age restrictions , gambling addiction programs and requirements that the sports leagues are the sources of data used to set odds and settle bets .
California ’ s system should also seek to allow betting over the internet and smartphones using state-licensed sites so the legal system can compete and reduce the black market , league officials say .
Because Major League Baseball has five teams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state , “ it ’ s really important that California get it right , particularly because this will be the largest betting market in the country and it will be a state that other states look to , ” Brian Seeley , a senior league vice president and deputy general counsel for Major League Baseball , told lawmakers this month .
Online gambling can also be lucrative for a state .
New Jersey saw some $ 2.9 billion in sports bets at retail and online sportsbooks in the first year after it began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with 81 % of the money wagered online , Grove said .
“ It ’ s clear that if we truly want to take illegal sports betting out of the shadows , there needs to be an online component for those who won ’ t patronize brick-and-mortar outlets , ” Dodd said .
“ Without that , it will remain largely unregulated , continue to pose the risk of fraud and fail to generate funds for education or help with problem gambling.
” Tribal leaders dispute that mobile betting should be allowed and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racetracks and at casinos , where patrons might be more likely to participate in other gambling activities as well .
Security and privacy issues have also been cited by opponents of mobile betting .
“ Voters have very real and serious concerns about mobile sports betting and would be highly likely to oppose a measure that allows online betting , ” said Jacob Mejia , a spokesman for the coalition of tribal casino operators , who added that the tribes don ’ t rule out allowing online betting in the future .
Legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tribes may be an obstacle to offering internet betting .
The proposed initiative would also expand tribal-state compact powers to allow craps and roulette at tribal casinos .
The tribes ’ initiative , which would put a 10 % tax on gross gaming revenues derived from sports wagering , has a good chance of qualifying for the ballot given the deep pockets of tribal casino operators , who must collect valid signatures from 997,139 registered voters .
The tribes spent $ 33 million in 2004 to defeat a ballot measure that would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slot machines .
Tribes and their lobbyists also have influence in the legislative process , having cultivated close relationships with lawmakers .
Five of the biggest tribal donors pushing the initiative spent a total of $ 2.1 million on political contributions last year as well as $ 1.1 million on lobbying state government .
On Thursday , several tribes co-hosted an annual party welcoming lawmakers back to Sacramento for the legislative year , offering cocktails , gourmet food and a live show by rapper Lil Jon .
The more than 50 non-tribal card @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
are already gearing up to fight the tribal initiative and weigh in with legislators on the ballot measures proposed by Gray and Dodd , said the association ’ s president , Kyle Kirkland .
The initiative “ gives the sports wagering just to the tribes with no real benefit for California , ” Kirkland said , noting that mobile betting would allow residents in cities such as Los Angeles that do not have tribal casinos the ability to gamble without driving long distances .
Florida-based gambling industry attorney Daniel Wallach also has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ betting at sports venues such as Staples Center , home to the Lakers and Clippers basketball teams , if they want the most robust legal market possible .
“ You take the activity to where the action is , ” Wallach said .
He said he is convinced that the Legislature can legalize sports betting in California without going to the voters to change the state Constitution , but legal experts with the Legislature believe a ballot measure is required .
It will take a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to put a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawmakers at this month ’ s first public hearing had concerns and questions about the various proposals .
Assemblyman Jim Cooper ( D-Elk Grove ) , a former sheriff ’ s captain , said he had “ a bit of trepidation ” about the promise of riches for the state treasury , noting that revenue projections from the legal cannabis industry and lottery have also fallen short of predictions .
The proposals are opposed by the California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion , which is especially concerned about allowing online bets .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of every youth potentially and every gambling addict , ” said Fred Jones , the group ’ s attorney .
“ They don ’ t have to go anywhere .
They have got it right there in their smartphone.
” Dodd , who is chairman of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee , argued the state and its residents are missing out by keeping betting illegal .
“ Though sports betting remains illegal in our state , the fact remains that Californians have and will continue to wager billions of dollars every single year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ I for one believe we must bring sports betting out of the shadows in a manner that provides the best deal for the state of California and provides maximum protections for our constituents .
”

Amado Nanalang watches basketball games while making bets at a sports book in Las Vegas. Californians could consider a ballot measure legalizing similar sports betting in November.
Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court removed legal barriers to sports betting, California voters could be asked in November to join 14 other states in allowing legal wagers on athletic contests, creating a lucrative industry worth billions of dollars and intense competition among rival gambling interests in the state.
Last week, a coalition of 18 Native American tribes was given state approval to begin circulating petitions for a statewide ballot initiative that would allow sports betting at tribal casinos and horse racing tracks, but not at rival card clubs or on the internet.
“This is an important step in helping ensure sports wagering is restricted to adults over 21 at highly regulated and experienced locations,” said Mark Macarro, tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, which operates a casino in Temecula. “The measure will also result in new revenue for mental health programs and vital services like public safety and education.”
Card clubs vowed to campaign against the tribal casino proposal and instead support another ballot measure being considered by the California Legislature that would apply to a larger group of gambling interests.
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California voters have given their blessing to legalized gambling three times — first through the creation of a statewide lottery in 1984, then by authorizing tribal casino operations with ballot measures approved in 1998 and 2000.
The stakes are high both for the state and for companies that might be licensed to offer sports betting, said Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced), a leading proponent for legalized sports betting and chairman of the powerful Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.
A legal sports betting market could bring in $2.5 billion in gross revenue annually in California, the largest market in the country, according to Chris Grove, a managing director for Eilers and Krejcik Gaming LLC, a research and consulting firm that has provided estimates to California lawmakers.
The market could generate $250 million to $500 million in tax revenue for the state based on whether the tax rate is 10% or 20%, Gray said.
“It is clear that we are quickly heading in the direction of a well-thought-out, legal sports betting framework here in California,” Gray said at a hearing this month. “We need to create this framework to ensure regulatory oversight and provide consumer protections to get this long-standing and emerging activity out of the shadows of the illicit or black market.”
A national wave of new gambling laws was triggered by a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a federal prohibition on sports wagering. Betting on football, baseball and other sports is allowed in 14 states, including Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In response to the court decision, Gray and state Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) have each introduced legislation that would put a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot as early as November to allow sports betting. To make the ballot, lawmakers have until late June to overcome the divisions in the state gambling industry over how to allow sports betting, and groups such as professional sports leagues and law enforcement are already weighing in.
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California is home to the most professional sports teams in the nation, including four National Basketball Assn. teams and three National Football League franchises, as well as powerhouse university teams from UCLA and USC. Lawyers for the NBA and Major League Baseball have told lawmakers that they are supportive of the concept of a constitutional amendment but want to make sure any new system protects consumers and the integrity of the games.
“Our view is that sports betting properly regulated can have benefits to bring betting out of the shadows and into the sunlight, to give us tools to allow us to monitor betting on our games and to protect the fans who bet on sports,” said Dan Spillane, senior vice president and assistant general counsel for the NBA, at this month’s hearing at the state Capitol.
Pro league representatives said any system should include consumer protections, including the vetting of operators, age restrictions, gambling addiction programs and requirements that the sports leagues are the sources of data used to set odds and settle bets.
California’s system should also seek to allow betting over the internet and smartphones using state-licensed sites so the legal system can compete and reduce the black market, league officials say.
Because MLB has five teams in California, the most of any state, “it’s really important that California get it right, particularly because this will be the largest betting market in the country and it will be a state that other states look to,” Bryan Seeley, a senior league vice president and deputy general counsel for MLB, told lawmakers this month.
Online gambling can also be lucrative for a state. New Jersey saw some $2.9 billion in sports bets at retail and online sportsbooks in the first year after it began allowing the wagering in June 2018, with 81% of the money wagered online, Grove said.
“It’s clear that if we truly want to take illegal sports betting out of the shadows, there needs to be an online component for those who won’t patronize brick-and-mortar outlets,” Dodd said. “Without that, it will remain largely unregulated, continue to pose the risk of fraud and fail to generate funds for education or help with problem gambling.”
Tribal leaders dispute that mobile betting should be allowed; their initiative would allow betting only at racetracks and at casinos, where patrons might be more likely to participate in other gambling activities as well.
Security and privacy issues have also been cited by opponents of mobile betting.
“Voters have very real and serious concerns about mobile sports betting and would be highly likely to oppose a measure that allows online betting,” said Jacob Mejia, a spokesman for the coalition of tribal casino operators, who added that the tribes don’t rule out allowing online betting in the future.
Legal experts say federal law regarding Native American tribes may be an obstacle to offering internet betting. The proposed initiative would also expand tribal-state compact powers to allow craps and roulette at tribal casinos.
The tribes’ initiative would create a 10% tax on sports gaming revenue at the racetracks, with the state’s share of revenue at the tribal casinos to at least cover regulatory costs subject to negotiations with the governor to amend existing tribal compacts. The measure has a good chance of qualifying for the ballot given the deep pockets of tribal casino operators, who must collect valid signatures from 997,139 registered voters.
This week, seven of the tribes reported they have contributed the first $5.5 million to a new Coalition to Authorize Regulated Sports Wagering, which is handling the petition drive.
The tribes spent $33 million in 2004 to defeat a ballot measure that would have allowed racetracks and card clubs to operate slot machines.
Tribes and their lobbyists also have influence in the legislative process, having cultivated close relationships with lawmakers. Five of the biggest tribal donors pushing the initiative spent a total of $2.1 million on political contributions last year as well as $1.1 million on lobbying state government. On Jan. 16, several tribes co-hosted an annual party welcoming lawmakers back to Sacramento for the legislative year, offering cocktails, gourmet food and a live show by rapper Lil Jon.
The more than 50 non-tribal card clubs represented by the California Gaming Assn. are already gearing up to fight the tribal initiative and weigh in with legislators on the ballot measures proposed by Gray and Dodd, said the association’s president, Kyle Kirkland.
The initiative “gives the sports wagering just to the tribes with no real benefit for California,” Kirkland said, noting that mobile betting would allow residents in cities such as Los Angeles that do not have tribal casinos the ability to gamble without driving long distances.
Florida-based gambling industry attorney Daniel Wallach also has advised lawmakers that they should allow sports betting at sports venues such as Staples Center, home to the Lakers and Clippers basketball teams, if they want the most robust legal market possible.
“You take the activity to where the action is,” Wallach said.
He said he is convinced that the Legislature can legalize sports betting in California without going to the voters to change the state Constitution, but legal experts with the Legislature believe a ballot measure is required.
It will take a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to put a measure on the ballot, and some lawmakers at this month’s first public hearing had concerns and questions about the various proposals. Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), a former sheriff’s captain, said he had “a bit of trepidation” about the promise of riches for the state treasury, noting that revenue projections from the legal cannabis industry and lottery have also fallen short of predictions.
The proposals are opposed by the California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion, which is especially concerned about allowing online bets.
“It basically puts a casino in the pocket of every youth potentially and every gambling addict,” said Fred Jones, the group’s attorney. “They don’t have to go anywhere. They have got it right there in their smartphone.”
Dodd, who is chairman of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, argued that the state and its residents are missing out by keeping betting illegal.
“Though sports betting remains illegal in our state, the fact remains that Californians have and will continue to wager billions of dollars every single year on their favorite sport,” Dodd said. “I for one believe we must bring sports betting out of the shadows in a manner that provides the best deal for the state of California and provides maximum protections for our constituents.”