latimes--2020-08-26--L.A. school officials have 3 weeks to devise emergency child-care plan, board orders

Alarmed by the city ’ s child-care crisis , the Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday called for an emergency plan to help parents navigate the challenge of working while supervising their children who are learning from home because of the coronavirus pandemic .
The board called on L.A. schools Supt .
Austin Beutner to deliver a plan by Sept. 15 .
In a separate action , the board voted to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement and also to incorporate ethnic studies into the work at all grade levels — a repeat of a 2014 effort that was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggling with child-care problems , help would be arriving later than needed , as the school year started Aug. 18 .
The availability of child care has become severely strained since campuses closed in mid-March .
Since then , financial losses , concerns about exposure to the virus and navigating a maze of new safety guidelines have forced some 9,300 licensed child-care providers — almost 1 of every 4 in the state — to close , according to data from the California Department of Social Services that show closures through July 31 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ member Nick Melvoin wants to expand the child care that L.A. Unified has begun to provide for school staff working from schools .
He called on the district to explore offering as much child care as feasible to families of students , based on a priority ranking .
This ranking should take factors into account such as whether the parents are essential workers , whether the students are in foster care or their families are homeless , and whether students have special needs , including those with disabilities who face particular struggles with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parent leader at Gardner Street Elementary in Hollywood , said in an interview that the need is acute .
One single mother , she said , has to leave her first-grader home alone to avoid losing her job , relying on a neighbor to check on the child from time to time .
Such situations make academic inequities worse for families with few resources , said Elisha Smith Arrillaga , executive director of the Oakland-based research and advocacy group Ed Trust—West .
“ Young children need adults to help navigate logging in and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other platforms used by schools and districts , ” Smith Arrillaga said .
Supt .
Beutner said the district is fully aware of the problem and has been trying to develop solutions .
“ This is the work we do every day , ” Beutner said , and the board ’ s resolution would not change that .
He warned against unrealistic expectations .
“ We ’ re still under a severe burden from COVID in the community , ” Beutner said .
“ We can ’ t leave the science behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bring students and staff back to school in a safe matter so it can sustain itself.
” County officials on Tuesday said a drop in coronavirus infections — if sustained for two more weeks — would allow health officials to approve waivers for the reopening of elementary schools , a step beyond child care .
L.A. school district officials had no immediate comment on that development .
In its unanimous vote on ethnic studies , the board side-stepped a contentious debate at the state level over what should be included in California ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the resolution , brought forward by Kelly Gonez , added language contending that ethnic studies is needed to counteract “ current curricula ” with persisting “ Racism , Eurocentrism , white supremacy , anti-Blackness , and anti-Indigeneity.
” In an email , Gonez said she was not suggesting that current California textbooks promote white supremacy , although “ there are certainly examples of curricula and textbooks that perpetuate white supremacy in the U.S. ” “ Generally speaking , it is problematic that our curricula continue to center on white perspectives and white voices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of communities of color , ” Gonez said .
The resolution will make ethnic studies a graduation requirement starting with the Class of 2024 .
The goal has a familiar ring .
In 2014 , the school board passed a motion mandating an ethnic studies requirement starting with the Class of 2019 .
Other issues and higher budget priorities took precedence instead .
As of the 2019-20 school year , about 100 L.A. Unified high schools were offering University of California-approved ethnic studies courses , but only 12,000 students had completed them over @ @ @ @ @

Katie Pace, a parent leader at Gardner Elementary in Hollywood said she’s worried that low-income and working parents face both an education crisis and a child-care crisis.
Alarmed by the city’s child-care crisis, the Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday called for an emergency plan to help parents navigate the challenge of working while supervising their children who are learning from home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The board called on L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner to deliver a plan by Sept. 15.
In a separate action, the board voted to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement and also to incorporate ethnic studies into the work at all grade levels — a repeat of a 2014 effort that was not fully implemented.
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For parents already struggling with child-care problems, help would be arriving later than needed, as the school year started Aug. 18.
The availability of child care has become severely strained since campuses closed in mid-March. Since then, financial losses, concerns about exposure to the virus and navigating a maze of new safety guidelines have forced some 9,300 licensed child-care providers — almost 1 of every 4 in the state — to close, according to data from the California Department of Social Services that show closures through July 31.
In bringing forward the motion, board member Nick Melvoin wants to expand the child care that L.A. Unified has begun to provide for school staff working from schools.
He called on the district to explore offering as much child care as feasible to families of students, based on a priority ranking. This ranking should take factors into account such as whether the parents are essential workers, whether the students are in foster care or their families are homeless, and whether students have special needs, including those with disabilities who face particular struggles with distance learning.
Melvoin also envisions the child care including academic support.
Katie Pace, a parent leader at Gardner Street Elementary in Hollywood, said in an interview that the need is acute. One single mother, she said, has to leave her first-grader home alone to avoid losing her job, relying on a neighbor to check on the child from time to time.
Such situations make academic inequities worse for families with few resources, said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, executive director of the Oakland-based research and advocacy group Ed Trust—West.
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“Young children need adults to help navigate logging in and out of Zoom, Google classroom, and other platforms used by schools and districts,” Smith Arrillaga said.
Supt. Beutner said the district is fully aware of the problem and has been trying to develop solutions.
“This is the work we do every day,” Beutner said, and the board’s resolution would not change that. He warned against unrealistic expectations.
“We’re still under a severe burden from COVID in the community,” Beutner said. “We can’t leave the science behind... One of my concerns is we bring students and staff back to school in a safe matter so it can sustain itself.”
County officials on Tuesday said a drop in coronavirus infections — if sustained for two more weeks — would allow health officials to approve waivers for the reopening of elementary schools, a step beyond child care. L.A. school district officials had no immediate comment on that development.
In its unanimous vote on ethnic studies, the board side-stepped a contentious debate at the state level over what should be included in California’s official “model curriculum.” But the resolution, brought forward by Kelly Gonez, added language contending that ethnic studies is needed to counteract “current curricula” with persisting “Racism, Eurocentrism, white supremacy, anti-Blackness, and anti-Indigeneity.”
In an email, Gonez said she was not suggesting that current California textbooks promote white supremacy, although “there are certainly examples of curricula and textbooks that perpetuate white supremacy in the U.S.”
“Generally speaking, it is problematic that our curricula continue to center on white perspectives and white voices, which marginalizes the experiences and assets of communities of color,” Gonez said.
The resolution will make ethnic studies a graduation requirement starting with the Class of 2024.
The goal has a familiar ring. In 2014, the school board passed a motion mandating an ethnic studies requirement starting with the Class of 2019. Other issues and higher budget priorities took precedence instead.
As of the 2019-20 school year, about 100 L.A. Unified high schools were offering University of California-approved ethnic studies courses, but only 12,000 students had completed them over the last five years.


latimes--2020-08-26--They were prepped for flames, but the fire came too fast. They couldn't outrun it

A week ago , Mary Hintemeyer stood in the oak grove that surrounded her Northern California home and looked out at where a fire was burning a few ridges away , unsure of its threat .
Normally , there is no cellphone signal in these parched hills that form the basin for Lake Berryessa , a reservoir that runs 15 miles across Napa County ’ s Vaca Mountains .
But that evening , she was able to reach her oldest child , Robert McNeal , who lives 13 miles away in the closest town , Winters .
He told her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she turned back toward the mobile home where she lived with her disabled boyfriend , Leo McDermott , and his son , Thomas .
Behind it , on the ridge that loomed above her , she saw smoke — another fire coming out of nearby Wragg Canyon , which she thought had been contained .
“ She said , ‘ Oh my God , it ’ s coming over the other side toward me , ’ ” said McNeal , remembering his last conversation with his mother .
“ ‘ I have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours , the Markley fire and the flames from the canyon converged near her home , said McNeal , eventually becoming part of the LNU Lightning Complex , now dubbed a mega-fire and one of the largest in California history .
Tuesday , it had burned 356,000 acres and was 27 % contained , according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection , part of some 1.4 million acres of land consumed by flame in recent days .
Like the pandemic , wildfires are especially hard on vulnerable populations — older @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was 70 , and the disabled , such as Leo McDermott .
While California ’ s massive fires have caused a reported seven deaths so far , such fires often prey upon the most frail and least mobile , and even slightly slower-moving blazes can end in tragedy for households in the state ’ s high-hazard fire zones .
As far back as 2008 when fires ravaged San Diego County , the state has struggled to inform and protect its most susceptible residents , some of whom lack easy access to cellphone service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that we don ’ t have the resources , that is heartbreaking , ” said Hintemeyer ’ s youngest daughter , Rachel Gardner , a housing specialist for the state who worked with Camp fire victims for seven months .
“ Especially knowing how California is , knowing we are prone to this.
” Hintemeyer was “ definitely a city girl ” and new to country life , said Gardner .
At 17 , she moved from Baltimore to Southern California , pregnant with her first son .
Within five years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon after , in the 1970s , she found herself as a single mother living in Vallejo .
Sometimes , said McNeal , money was so tight that she would work gigs such as cleaning houses on the side , though her main job then was handling the complaint desk at the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper , fielding calls from unhappy subscribers .
But she also had a wilder side — she was a belly dancer in her off hours , making her own costumes and performing with snakes and swords .
Once , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McNeal carrying the sign for her troupe .
When McNeal was older , his mother ’ s adventurous streak led them both to work security at concert-promoter Bill Graham Presents events , including shows for bands such as Pearl Jam and Too $ hort .
When her granddaughter Micheala Sanchez was about 4 , she dubbed Hintemeyer the “ pink grandma ” because Hintemeyer dyed her hair bright red .
It was a nickname that stuck through nearly two dozen grandchildren , and on to a third generation , though she eventually returned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 21st birthday of Gardner ’ s daughter , Crystal , at one of the few bars in Winters , Hintemeyer met McDermott .
Crystal and Mary had gone out front to smoke cigarettes , where McDermott was sitting on the tailgate of a truck .
A well-known character in the small community , he was a “ bad boy ” type who rode Harley-Davidsons and had lived off the land since 1978 , when he bought 43 acres , said Gardner .
It was a thickly forested spot with a dirt drive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and McDermott refused to build a house there because doing so would have increased his property taxes .
He considered it a government overreach that he wouldn ’ t pay , though he ’ d made a fair sum of money off an invention that allowed him to fix the crankshaft of an engine without removing it from the vehicle , a sought-after service for farm equipment and race cars , said McNeal .
Hintemeyer and McDermott were inseparable from the day they met , said her children .
Then in his 60s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had left much of his wilder ways behind .
Hintemeyer soon moved up to his mountain hideaway , taking pleasure in regaling her kids with her rugged achievements , like a thriving garden full of tomatoes and strawberries .
At Christmas , McDermott would dress up as Santa for the kids .
But McDermott was soon diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that turned his muscles to jelly .
First , he lost the use of his legs and needed a wheelchair .
Then he lost function in the lower half of his body @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tasks of life .
Recently , his hands began to weaken , so that he could barely hold a fork .
But he was a “ rebel ” and refused to move into town , though the burden of caring for him was increasingly difficult for Hintemeyer , said McNeal .
McNeal said his mother , a religious woman , began to pray for help .
She believed Tom , McDermott ’ s son , was the answer to that plea .
Tom had disappeared after crashing his father ’ s car when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier .
About two years ago , he walked back onto his father ’ s property , said McNeal .
Though Tom barely spoke those first years , McNeal said he told him that he ’ d been in a car accident .
When he woke in the hospital , he could remember little except his father ’ s address .
With an injured wrist , so broken that it eventually healed into a hooked shape , he fled from medical care and made his way home , where he became the third @ @ @ @ @ @ @ property because of McDermott ’ s health .
What happened in the final hours before fire killed Hintemeyer and the McDermotts is a painful conjecture for McNeal and his family .
Some things they know for certain .
Earlier in the afternoon , Hintemeyer had tried to drive into town for supplies .
But evacuation orders were already in place and a sheriff ’ s deputy told her if she went through his barricade , she couldn ’ t return .
Hintemeyer turned back .
“ The bottom line is she loved them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that barrier wasn ’ t up and she left , she wouldn ’ t have been able to live with it.
” McNeal also knows that they packed up their van to leave , including presents for a grandson whose birthday was coming .
But after his mother disconnected their call , something prevented them from going .
McNeal believes the fire moved too fast .
Instead , the three may have tried to reach a fire bunker McDermott had built into the side of the mountain — an 8-foot box with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ replaced and insulation around its sides .
On Tuesday , all that remained of that bunker were smooth-hewn dirt walls , with the metal skeleton of McDermott ’ s wheelchair on its side near the entrance .
In the space that was meant to provide a safe haven , a metal rack had wilted in the heat , spilling dozens of cans of blackened food and melted green bottles into still-smoldering ash .
Above it on the hillside , the oaks stood sentinel , their canopies burned clean .
It is not known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For Gardner , who heard so many similar stories during her time working with Camp fire survivors , there is frustration along with sorrow .
She and her brother believe the fire bunker and a water truck hooked up to a well gave her family a false sense of safety .
She wants others to know that you can ’ t predict a fire , and the consequences of being wrong are not worth the risk .
“ We will never have all the answers .
I am certain Leo was sitting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was sorry .
I am sure my mom was praying , ” said Gardner .
“ I can ’ t stress it enough , when you are told to evacuate , evacuate .
”

A hillside fire bunker at the home of Mary Hintemeyer was supposed to provide safety for her, her boyfriend Leo McDermott and his son, Thomas. But all three perished when the LNU Lightning Complex fire tore through their Napa County property.
A week ago, Mary Hintemeyer stood in the oak grove that surrounded her Northern California home and looked out at where a fire was burning a few ridges away, unsure of its threat.
Normally, there is no cellphone signal in these parched hills that form the basin for Lake Berryessa, a reservoir that runs 15 miles across Napa County’s Vaca Mountains. But that evening, she was able to reach her oldest child, Robert McNeal, who lives 13 miles away in the closest town, Winters. He told her to get out.
As they spoke, she turned back toward the mobile home where she lived with her disabled boyfriend, Leo McDermott, and his son, Thomas. Behind it, on the ridge that loomed above her, she saw smoke — another fire coming out of nearby Wragg Canyon, which she thought had been contained.
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“She said, ‘Oh my God, it’s coming over the other side toward me,’” said McNeal, remembering his last conversation with his mother. “‘I have to go.’”
“We will never have all the answers” of how Mary Hintemeyer and Leo McDermott died, says her youngest daughter, Rachel Gardner. “I can’t stress it enough, when you are told to evacuate, evacuate.” (Rachel Gardner)
In the next hours, the Markley fire and the flames from the canyon converged near her home, said McNeal, eventually becoming part of the LNU Lightning Complex, now dubbed a mega-fire and one of the largest in California history.
Tuesday, it had burned 356,000 acres and was 27% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, part of some 1.4 million acres of land consumed by flame in recent days.
Like the pandemic, wildfires are especially hard on vulnerable populations — older people, such as Hintemeyer, who was 70, and the disabled, such as Leo McDermott.
While California’s massive fires have caused a reported seven deaths so far, such fires often prey upon the most frail and least mobile, and even slightly slower-moving blazes can end in tragedy for households in the state’s high-hazard fire zones. As far back as 2008 when fires ravaged San Diego County, the state has struggled to inform and protect its most susceptible residents, some of whom lack easy access to cellphone service or the internet.
“The whole fact that we don’t have the resources, that is heartbreaking,” said Hintemeyer’s youngest daughter, Rachel Gardner, a housing specialist for the state who worked with Camp fire victims for seven months. “Especially knowing how California is, knowing we are prone to this.”
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Hintemeyer was “definitely a city girl” and new to country life, said Gardner. At 17, she moved from Baltimore to Southern California, pregnant with her first son. Within five years, she had two more girls, and soon after, in the 1970s, she found herself as a single mother living in Vallejo.
Robert McNeal said his mother, Mary Hintemeyer, her boyfriend, Leo McDermott, and his son, Tom McDermott, took refuge in a makeshift fire shelter on their Napa County property, but the trio never made it out alive. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Sometimes, said McNeal, money was so tight that she would work gigs such as cleaning houses on the side, though her main job then was handling the complaint desk at the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper, fielding calls from unhappy subscribers.
But she also had a wilder side — she was a belly dancer in her off hours, making her own costumes and performing with snakes and swords. Once, she danced in a local parade with McNeal carrying the sign for her troupe.
When McNeal was older, his mother’s adventurous streak led them both to work security at concert-promoter Bill Graham Presents events, including shows for bands such as Pearl Jam and Too $hort. When her granddaughter Micheala Sanchez was about 4, she dubbed Hintemeyer the “pink grandma” because Hintemeyer dyed her hair bright red. It was a nickname that stuck through nearly two dozen grandchildren, and on to a third generation, though she eventually returned to a blond shade.
While celebrating the 21st birthday of Gardner’s daughter, Crystal, at one of the few bars in Winters, Hintemeyer met McDermott. Crystal and Mary had gone out front to smoke cigarettes, where McDermott was sitting on the tailgate of a truck.
A well-known character in the small community, he was a “bad boy” type who rode Harley-Davidsons and had lived off the land since 1978, when he bought 43 acres, said Gardner. It was a thickly forested spot with a dirt drive as steep as a ski slope, and McDermott refused to build a house there because doing so would have increased his property taxes. He considered it a government overreach that he wouldn’t pay, though he’d made a fair sum of money off an invention that allowed him to fix the crankshaft of an engine without removing it from the vehicle, a sought-after service for farm equipment and race cars, said McNeal.
Hintemeyer and McDermott were inseparable from the day they met, said her children. Then in his 60s, McDermott walked with a cane and had left much of his wilder ways behind. Hintemeyer soon moved up to his mountain hideaway, taking pleasure in regaling her kids with her rugged achievements, like a thriving garden full of tomatoes and strawberries. At Christmas, McDermott would dress up as Santa for the kids.
But McDermott was soon diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that turned his muscles to jelly. First, he lost the use of his legs and needed a wheelchair. Then he lost function in the lower half of his body, relying on Hintemeyer for the daily tasks of life. Recently, his hands began to weaken, so that he could barely hold a fork.
But he was a “rebel” and refused to move into town, though the burden of caring for him was increasingly difficult for Hintemeyer, said McNeal.
Thomas McDermott died with his father in the lightning-stoked complex of Northern California fires. (Rachel Gardner)
McNeal said his mother, a religious woman, began to pray for help. She believed Tom, McDermott’s son, was the answer to that plea. Tom had disappeared after crashing his father’s car when he was 16, almost 30 years earlier. About two years ago, he walked back onto his father’s property, said McNeal.
Though Tom barely spoke those first years, McNeal said he told him that he’d been in a car accident. When he woke in the hospital, he could remember little except his father’s address. With an injured wrist, so broken that it eventually healed into a hooked shape, he fled from medical care and made his way home, where he became the third in a trio that rarely left the property because of McDermott’s health.
What happened in the final hours before fire killed Hintemeyer and the McDermotts is a painful conjecture for McNeal and his family.
Some things they know for certain. Earlier in the afternoon, Hintemeyer had tried to drive into town for supplies. But evacuation orders were already in place and a sheriff’s deputy told her if she went through his barricade, she couldn’t return. Hintemeyer turned back.
“The bottom line is she loved them,” said Gardner. “If that barrier wasn’t up and she left, she wouldn’t have been able to live with it.”
McNeal also knows that they packed up their van to leave, including presents for a grandson whose birthday was coming. But after his mother disconnected their call, something prevented them from going. McNeal believes the fire moved too fast.
Instead, the three may have tried to reach a fire bunker McDermott had built into the side of the mountain — an 8-foot box with a reinforced fire door that had been recently replaced and insulation around its sides.
The trio may have tried to reach a fire bunker Leo McDermott had built into the side of the mountain. All that remained of that bunker were dirt walls, with the metal skeleton of McDermott’s wheelchair. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
On Tuesday, all that remained of that bunker were smooth-hewn dirt walls, with the metal skeleton of McDermott’s wheelchair on its side near the entrance. In the space that was meant to provide a safe haven, a metal rack had wilted in the heat, spilling dozens of cans of blackened food and melted green bottles into still-smoldering ash. Above it on the hillside, the oaks stood sentinel, their canopies burned clean.
It is not known if they made it to the shelter.
For Gardner, who heard so many similar stories during her time working with Camp fire survivors, there is frustration along with sorrow. She and her brother believe the fire bunker and a water truck hooked up to a well gave her family a false sense of safety. She wants others to know that you can’t predict a fire, and the consequences of being wrong are not worth the risk.
“We will never have all the answers. I am certain Leo was sitting there telling my mom and his son he was sorry. I am sure my mom was praying,” said Gardner. “I can’t stress it enough, when you are told to evacuate, evacuate.”


latimes--2020-08-26--UC Berkeley chancellor calls reopening amid crises 'hardest situation I've ever encountered'

The University of California ’ s first two campuses to reopen this fall , Berkeley and Merced , begin classes Wednesday amid multiple crises : fear of COVID-19 spikes among students , shuttered classrooms that have forced online learning , and battered university budgets .
The early reports from some college openings throughout the nation are unsettling .
Despite months of careful planning and strict rules for testing , contact tracing , masking and social distancing , the virus is surging as students have begun gathering in groups large and small after months apart from friends .
At USC , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in COVID-19 cases just one week into the semester .
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported that 31 % of students had tested positive for the virus this week after the university reopened with in-person classes and then quickly shut down .
The University of Alabama reported more than 560 new cases less than a week after classes began Aug. 19 .
Now UC campuses face their own tests .
UC Berkeley was one of the first universities in the state to shift to online learning .
Chancellor Carol Christ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biostatistics professor , Nicholas Jewell , laid out how rapidly and dangerously this virus would spread during a March 7 lecture .
Two days later , she announced the shutdown .
This fall , UC Berkeley expects 1,600 students to move into campus dorms — short of filling 3,000 available spots as many cancelled housing contracts after learning that almost all classes will be remote .
As of Sunday , only three of 1,340 students had tested positive for COVID-19 , Christ said .
All students are required to sequester for a week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ follow strict masking and social distancing rules .
Students living in off-campus apartments are being urged to do likewise .
At the same time , the pandemic has spurred Berkeley ’ s worst ever financial crisis .
The campus expects a financial hit of $ 340 million through next June , the result of less revenue from housing , dining , athletics and performances , along with higher spending for cleaning , testing and instructional technology .
That is projected to cause a $ 200-million budget deficit for fiscal year 2021 , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out short-term debt along with other actions .
Christ said she expects a much improved online learning experience this fall because faculty and graduate students have spent the summer developing more robust offerings than the “ on-the-fly ” instruction abruptly launched in March .
To ensure equitable remote learning opportunities , the campus has invested $ 4.6 million for 3,000 laptops , 800 WiFi hot spots and other tools for lower-income students .
“ It ’ s certainly the hardest situation I ’ ve ever encountered , by far , in my time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who spoke of the challenges in an interview with reporters this week : Christ : The hardest thing in this pandemic is how fast facts on the ground change and also knowledge changes .
So we ’ re still constantly reassessing .
What ’ s the best testing protocol ?
What ’ s the best test ?
What ’ s the best contact tracing ?
We ’ ve all had to learn to be very agile , really flexible in our decision-making .
I ’ ve never had to lead through anything as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one crisis .
This is three crises .
This is the pandemic .
It ’ s the financial crisis that ’ s consequent to the pandemic .
And it ’ s the crisis that the George Floyd murder spurred in which there ’ s this urgent questioning about systemic racism and social justice .
And now we add to that the bad air ... with the fires in Northern California .
We have as a campus limited power over congregant living that we don ’ t ourselves control .
Fraternities would all fall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to develop a strategy with the city , which makes sure that consequences are real and immediate for violating the city ’ s public health orders .
We ’ re using all the persuasion tools that are in our tool bucket to try to persuade students to act responsibly .
It ’ s a complicated issue because what we don ’ t want to do is create a situation where students are so frightened of punishment that they don ’ t get tested when they ’ ve been in an unsafe situation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the campus dormitories is twice a week .
We just decided to extend that to our congregant living off campus like fraternities because I believe that the key to controlling this pandemic is testing and contact tracing .
That ’ s the most powerful tool we have ... not the chancellor ’ s yelling at students .
So we ’ re really working to make sure that students feel no barriers to testing and no shame in testing so we can make sure to control the epidemic .
What about equity for less-advantaged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do in all our decision-making is to apply an equity lens .
One example of a lesson learned , which really surprised me , which is we developed a laptop program for students on financial aid .
We found that by far , the greater barrier was really poor internet connectivity .
We really have to be so alert to ways in which ... experiencing a Berkeley education is magnifying inequity .
We ’ re all in the same storm , but we ’ re not in the same boat .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is be very alert to the leaking and fragile boats out there and trying to provide resources to enable students to have access to the same opportunities as their peers .
How will you meet the calls for racial justice ?
I think this is both an obligation of the university to respond to this urgent questioning of race and injustice in our society , as well as an opportunity for us .
So we ’ re going to have a set of public programs .
We are involved in the unnaming of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ launch a Black history project in order to excavate the history of Blacks through the length of Berkeley ’ s history .
We ’ re trying to expand undergraduate opportunities of underrepresented students for research and internships .
And then we received the report of the independent advisory board on police accountability and community safety and we ’ ll be responding within a few weeks to the recommendations .
Are you nervous about what lies ahead ?
Because instruction will be wholly remote , I don ’ t think starting instruction carries particular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concerned about the risks resulting from students socializing off campus .
I ’ m excited about the beginning of the semester , as I always am , and all the personal and intellectual discovery it will stimulate in our students , even in this strange remote world .

The University of California’s first two campuses to reopen this fall, Berkeley and Merced, begin classes Wednesday amid multiple crises: fear of COVID-19 spikes among students, shuttered classrooms that have forced online learning, and battered university budgets.
The early reports from some college openings throughout the nation are unsettling. Despite months of careful planning and strict rules for testing, contact tracing, masking and social distancing, the virus is surging as students have begun gathering in groups large and small after months apart from friends.
At USC, officials announced an “alarming surge” in COVID-19 cases just one week into the semester. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported that 31% of students had tested positive for the virus this week after the university reopened with in-person classes and then quickly shut down. The University of Alabama reported more than 560 new cases less than a week after classes began Aug. 19.
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Now UC campuses face their own tests.
UC Berkeley was one of the first universities in the state to shift to online learning. Chancellor Carol Christ said her decision came after a Berkeley biostatistics professor, Nicholas Jewell, laid out how rapidly and dangerously this virus would spread during a March 7 lecture. Two days later, she announced the shutdown.
This fall, UC Berkeley expects 1,600 students to move into campus dorms — short of filling 3,000 available spots as many cancelled housing contracts after learning that almost all classes will be remote. As of Sunday, only three of 1,340 students had tested positive for COVID-19, Christ said. All students are required to sequester for a week, then take another test, and follow strict masking and social distancing rules. Students living in off-campus apartments are being urged to do likewise.
At the same time, the pandemic has spurred Berkeley’s worst ever financial crisis. The campus expects a financial hit of $340 million through next June, the result of less revenue from housing, dining, athletics and performances, along with higher spending for cleaning, testing and instructional technology. That is projected to cause a $200-million budget deficit for fiscal year 2021, which campus officials expect to cover by taking out short-term debt along with other actions.
Christ said she expects a much improved online learning experience this fall because faculty and graduate students have spent the summer developing more robust offerings than the “on-the-fly” instruction abruptly launched in March. To ensure equitable remote learning opportunities, the campus has invested $4.6 million for 3,000 laptops, 800 WiFi hot spots and other tools for lower-income students.
“It’s certainly the hardest situation I’ve ever encountered, by far, in my time as chancellor,” said Christ, who spoke of the challenges in an interview with reporters this week:
Most difficult issue?
Christ: The hardest thing in this pandemic is how fast facts on the ground change and also knowledge changes. So we’re still constantly reassessing. What’s the best testing protocol? What’s the best test? What’s the best contact tracing? We’ve all had to learn to be very agile, really flexible in our decision-making.
I’ve never had to lead through anything as complex as this. This is not one crisis. This is three crises. This is the pandemic. It’s the financial crisis that’s consequent to the pandemic. And it’s the crisis that the George Floyd murder spurred in which there’s this urgent questioning about systemic racism and social justice. And now we add to that the bad air... with the fires in Northern California.
Will Berkeley police student parties?
We have as a campus limited power over congregant living that we don’t ourselves control. Fraternities would all fall into that category. But we want to develop a strategy with the city, which makes sure that consequences are real and immediate for violating the city’s public health orders. We’re using all the persuasion tools that are in our tool bucket to try to persuade students to act responsibly.
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It’s a complicated issue because what we don’t want to do is create a situation where students are so frightened of punishment that they don’t get tested when they’ve been in an unsafe situation. The testing protocol that we have for the campus dormitories is twice a week. We just decided to extend that to our congregant living off campus like fraternities because I believe that the key to controlling this pandemic is testing and contact tracing. That’s the most powerful tool we have ... not the chancellor’s yelling at students. So we’re really working to make sure that students feel no barriers to testing and no shame in testing so we can make sure to control the epidemic.
What about equity for less-advantaged students?
What we’ve tried to do in all our decision-making is to apply an equity lens. One example of a lesson learned, which really surprised me, which is we developed a laptop program for students on financial aid. We found that by far, the greater barrier was really poor internet connectivity. We really have to be so alert to ways in which ... experiencing a Berkeley education is magnifying inequity. We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not in the same boat. And what we’re trying to do is be very alert to the leaking and fragile boats out there and trying to provide resources to enable students to have access to the same opportunities as their peers.
How will you meet the calls for racial justice?
I think this is both an obligation of the university to respond to this urgent questioning of race and injustice in our society, as well as an opportunity for us. So we’re going to have a set of public programs. We are involved in the unnaming of several buildings. We are going to launch a Black history project in order to excavate the history of Blacks through the length of Berkeley’s history. We’re trying to expand undergraduate opportunities of underrepresented students for research and internships. And then we received the report of the independent advisory board on police accountability and community safety and we’ll be responding within a few weeks to the recommendations.
Are you nervous about what lies ahead?
Because instruction will be wholly remote, I don’t think starting instruction carries particular risk. I’m much more concerned about the risks resulting from students socializing off campus. I’m excited about the beginning of the semester, as I always am, and all the personal and intellectual discovery it will stimulate in our students, even in this strange remote world.


latimes--2020-08-26--O.C.'s bishop, a $12-million problem and a secret fight stretching to the Vatican

The FedEx envelopes landed at dawn on the doorsteps of some of Orange County ’ s most influential Catholic philanthropists — real estate developers , attorneys , CEOs and other church stalwarts who had raised tens of millions of dollars over the years for the local diocese .
Inside were letters from Bishop Kevin Vann that boiled down to two words : You ’ re fired .
Those June missives ignited a revolt inside the Orange County church that has burned all the way to the Vatican while remaining largely hidden from the diocese ’ s 1.3 million rank-and-file Catholics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between a circle of well-connected laypeople who helped the church rebound financially from the clergy abuse scandal two decades ago , and a prelate staring down fresh money problems brought on by the pandemic and a new round of molestation lawsuits .
The benefactors have accused Vann of violating state law by removing them from the board of an independent charity after they rebuffed what they contend was an illegal plan to “ invade ” endowment funds and flout donor wishes .
They complained formally last month to the papal nuncio , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and have alerted Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez , the head of the American bishops ’ conference , along with a cardinal in Rome who oversees clergy issues and charitable foundations for Pope Francis .
A spokeswoman said the bishop was on vacation for the month and unavailable for an interview .
His representatives denied he or the church acted improperly , but declined to answer many questions about the situation , with the spokeswoman , Tracey Kincaid , saying the diocese “ does not comment on internal processes.
” The situation unfolding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for other dioceses .
At a time when generational shifts and the fallout of the abuse scandal have made Catholics more willing than ever to question church authorities , COVID-19 is forcing controversial decisions on bishops .
A Georgetown University survey of 116 American bishops published last month found that as a result of declining revenues in the pandemic , nearly a quarter were considering closing parishes and 45 % either had closed elementary schools or were considering doing so .
The church in California has added financial pressure .
A state law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three-year window for the filing of sexual abuse claims previously barred by statutes of limitation .
Lawsuits are already piling up against church organizations across the state .
The most striking part of the Orange County conflict may be that the bishop ’ s opponents are not church critics , but devout insiders .
Two forced off the charity board by the bishop , the real estate developer Rand Sperry and Dr. Jacqueline DuPont , chief executive of assisted living companies , have received awards from the diocese for “ exemplary business integrity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dedication last summer of Vann ’ s crown jewel , a gleaming new $ 130-million cathedral complex in Garden Grove .
The board member who wrote the Vatican complaint , Tustin attorney Don Hunsberger , was honored in 2019 as Orange County ’ s Catholic Man of the Year .
“ Not one of my brethren among the board of Directors of The Orange Catholic Foundation has ever found herself or himself in the position of having to question the actions of our Ordinary in a manner such as this , ” Hunsberger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the nuncio July 2 , using the ecclesiastical term for bishop .
“ Each of us has suffered under the weight of having to make this decision.
” Most of the directors forced off the 18-member board did not return messages and those who did declined interview requests .
This story is based on emails , memos and other internal diocese and foundation records as well as the accounts of people familiar with the dispute who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the COVID shutdown when the chief financial officer of the diocese approached the Orange Catholic Foundation and said the bishop needed a lot of money and quickly .
CFO Elizabeth Jensen said the school system was short $ 8 million and parishes $ 4 million , according to correspondence reviewed by The Times and interviews with people familiar with the conversation .
In a follow-up email March 23 to foundation Chairman Stephen Muzzy , a Trabuco Canyon real estate and private equity investor , the CFO wrote that nine parishes lacked “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Parents in poor areas and “ even some in South County ” were unable to make tuition payments , she said .
“ I believe the situation is getting to the point of being grave , which motivated me , on behalf of Bishop Vann , to ask for the resources from OCF for which I truly consider to be real needs , ” Jensen wrote .
Money the foundation provided might be repaid down the road , she said , but “ there is no guarantee .
We are all in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which the board ultimately declined , was unprecedented in the foundation ’ s history .
The nonprofit had been set up 20 years before in the midst of another crisis : Revelations that priests had sexually abused children and their superiors had covered it up .
As the abuse crisis swept the country in the late 1990s and early 2000s , big donors cut back on their giving .
Many said they did not trust church leaders who had covered up molestation and did not want their money going to pay legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Church leadership devised a solution embraced by many dioceses : Independent foundations that benefited Catholic causes , but were outside the control of the bishop .
In some cases , dioceses moved existing church assets into the new nonprofits , making them beyond the reach of plaintiffs and other creditors should the local church fall into bankruptcy .
Retired Laguna Niguel banker Jim Tecca , who chaired the foundation years before the current dispute , explained the dynamic between the diocese and the foundation in a way fitting for property-mad Orange County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a piece of real estate , you set up a corporation rather than doing it yourself .
In case there are lawsuits ... personal assets are not at risk , ” Tecca said .
By the time then-Bishop Tod Brown signed a $ 100-million settlement with 90 victims in 2005 , the independent foundation was already up and running .
It grew into a prestigious and trusted organization that doled out millions in grants annually and held endowment money for parishes and institutions including Mater Dei and Santa Margarita high schools .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ drew high-profile speakers such as actress Patricia Heaton and Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Catholic schools while its estate planning seminars primed wealthy parishioners to leave money or property to the foundation .
The average bequest to the nonprofit was a startling $ 867,000 , according to recent marketing materials .
Critical to its success , supporters say , was donors ’ view of the foundation as entirely Catholic yet independent from the hierarchy , or as its mission statement states , “ an autonomous , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our Diocese ... following each donor ’ s intent.
” Donors were assured that contributions will be used for the purposes they specified , whether seminarian training , care of elderly priests , parishes in poor neighborhoods , scholarships at a particular grammar school or purchase of the cathedral organ .
“ We told every single donor that same mission statement , ” said Susan Strader , a board member from Newport Beach who with her husband , real estate developer Tim , chaired the fundraising campaign to complete the cathedral complex .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , lectionaries , stations of the cross , buildings , classrooms .
There was no money that was just able to be moved out of that donor intent.
” A volunteer board dominated by lay business people governed the foundation , and its promotional materials laid out the limits of the bishop ’ s influence : “ The Bishop of Orange is one of the voting members of the board of directors but is not the chairman.
” Tecca , the former board chair , could not recall a single legal or ethical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , adding , “ The reason is we did what the donor said .
Exactly .
No question.
” Vann , a 69-year-old native of Illinois , was installed as bishop in 2012 , a year after the diocese bought televangelist Robert H. Schuller ’ s Crystal Cathedral out of bankruptcy for $ 57 million .
The 34-acre property needed extensive renovations that topped $ 72 million .
The cathedral had been open less than a year when the coronavirus hit .
When the diocese told the foundation board in a March 19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 12 million , the foundation had assets of about $ 45 million .
People with knowledge of the call said Jensen , the diocesan CFO , asked the foundation for the entire amount .
Through a diocesan attorney , she said she never asked for $ 12 million and was only laying out the scope of the problem .
In a written request two days later , she identified more than $ 2.6 million in specific foundation accounts she wanted turned over to the diocese .
She noted that the board ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intent of the donors.
” Much of foundation money was in endowments that paid a small percentage of their value to dedicated causes annually .
State law requires charities to be '' prudent ” when disbursing endowment money and to follow any donor instructions .
The foundation ’ s agreements capped the amount at 5 % a year .
Yet Jensen was requesting 25 % of two funds and 50 % of another , according to her written request .
In a statement provided by the diocesan lawyer , Jensen said that when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I had no specific knowledge of the particular restrictions in each of the donor agreements .
For that reason , I emphasized that any limitations imposed by donors must be followed.
” In a series of phone calls and emails , board members told church officials that while they wanted to help , the law wouldn ’ t allow it .
“ Right now you , you feel the Board ’ s hands are tied and can not grant any funds for the foreseeable future , ” Jensen summarized in a March 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Muzzy , to reply , “ I am shocked at what I perceive to be the tone of your email — that the OCF does not want to help the [ bishop . ]
” In a three-page letter later that day , Muzzy wrote that on the advice of its lawyers , the board was denying the diocesan request for emergency funds .
He attached a copy of the state law governing endowments .
The board , he wrote , “ can not breach its fiduciary duties and statutory requirements as custodian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be a breach of every duty we have to our donors ... ” The bishop had other potential sources of money .
The diocese annual financial report showed that as of July 2019 , the diocese had $ 195 million in net assets with $ 37 million of that held in “ cash and cash equivalents.
” Parishes , schools and other organizations also received loans of more than $ 18 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program , a government database indicates .
Still , in the following weeks , members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money for the diocese , including soliciting donations from long-time benefactors .
They handed over $ 1.4 million in April , according to foundation records The Times reviewed .
The money did not pacify Vann .
On a June Zoom meeting with board members , he said he saw the new funds as evidence that Suzanne Nunn , a longtime foundation consultant serving as acting executive director , had lied about whether the nonprofit had money for the diocese , according to sources familiar with the situation who asked not to be named @ @ @ @ @ @ @ board to fire her .
They refused , telling the bishop ’ s staff that Nunn served at the board ’ s pleasure , not his , the sources said .
Nunn declined to comment .
After the bishop made his displeasure known , she decided to leave the foundation anyhow and the board was scheduled to finalize her severance agreement at a meeting June 19 .
Early that morning , Vann informed the board by FedEx letters that he had decided “ to remove all the current elected members ” of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failed to achieve goals he set out for them including establishing a strategic plan and hiring a permanent executive director , despite repeated requests .
“ [ S ] peaking as a father to his family , there has been a loss of trust and collaboration , ” he wrote , adding , “ While I had hoped to avoid this outcome , I have come to believe that this is necessary and in the best interests of OCF and its mission at this particular time in our history.
” He thanked them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Yours in Christ.
” The same day , a new chair appointed by Vann , fired Nunn .
The dismissed board , which included a parish priest from San Clemente and a 74-year-old nun who worked at the cathedral , was stunned .
One former director remarked , “ I feel like I ’ ve been fired by God , ” according to sources familiar with the board ’ s response .
As it often does , the shock gave way to lawyers .
Attorneys pored over church law and corporate governance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had violated state corporate law , according to emails and memos reviewed by The Times .
The foundation ’ s bylaws allowed a majority of the board to remove a director for any reason , but the bishop was limited to removing a director only for a spiritual failing , such as excommunication or causing a public scandal , or for acting against the objectives of the foundation .
Three board members , Muzzy , Hunsberger and Newport Beach finance executive Ryan Kerrigan , told Vann in a July 2 letter that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and urged him to reconsider .
“ What have we done to deserve such arbitrary , judgmental treatment , ” they wrote , copying Gomez , the head of the L.A. archdiocese , and the papal nuncio , Archbishop Christope Pierre , and another Vatican official , Cardinal Benjamin Stella .
A letter to Pierre the same day begged apologies for “ sending this letter on plain white paper.
” “ We have been locked out of the offices of the Foundation by order of our Ordinary , so we do not have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this missive , ” Hunsberger wrote on behalf of the fired board .
An accompanying memo prepared with a lawyer for the foundation warned of dire potential legal consequences .
It charged that the bishop had opened the diocese up to suits by the ousted directors for their “ illegal ” removal and by Nunn for being dismissed “ based on her refusal to allow illegal actions.
” Additionally , the memo asserted , donors could file breach of contract suits and plaintiffs ’ attorneys in the new clergy abuse suits could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responded July 28 , telling the three board members that the directors ’ removal “ was strictly in accord with the OCF Bylaws as well as canon and civil law , as I confirmed in advance , to ensure the continuing appropriate separation of OCF and the Diocese.
” A diocesan lawyer said in a statement that the foundation assets remained off limits from those with legal claims against the church .
`` [ T ] here can be no suggestion that ... any creditor of the [ diocese ] can pierce the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of OCF , ” the lawyer wrote .
So far the Vatican has not weighed in publicly .
The nuncio did not respond to messages .
A spokeswoman for Gomez did not answer questions about the archbishop ’ s response to the conflict in Orange , but noted in an email that he “ has no day-to-day administrative oversight of the Diocese of Orange.
” A member of the old board , Strader , was reappointed to the new board .
Asked about her former colleagues ’ complaint , she said the bishop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so they don ’ t really have a leg to stand on.
” Since the changeover , the new board has not disbursed more than 5 % from any endowment , according to a diocesan lawyer .
The diocese ’ s most important donor , Timothy Busch , an Irvine entrepreneur who co-founded JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano , gave heavily to the new cathedral and gifted more than $ 15 million to Catholic University , declined to comment .
“ I was not involved on that board or the decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , adding , “ Thank you for caring about church governance.
” Villanova Professor Emeritus Charles Zech , an expert on the Catholic Church ’ s finances and management , said that he was unaware of a similar dispute between a bishop and foundation , and called the firings “ outrageous.
” “ I can ’ t imagine a bishop being that naive to think he can get away with that and not alienate donors , big and small , ” Zech said .

Just a year after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange dedicated the $130-million Christ Cathedral complex, some of its most influential philanthropists are at war with the bishop.
The FedEx envelopes landed at dawn on the doorsteps of some of Orange County’s most influential Catholic philanthropists — real estate developers, attorneys, CEOs and other church stalwarts who had raised tens of millions of dollars over the years for the local diocese.
Inside were letters from Bishop Kevin Vann that boiled down to two words: You’re fired.
Those June missives ignited a revolt inside the Orange County church that has burned all the way to the Vatican while remaining largely hidden from the diocese’s 1.3 million rank-and-file Catholics.
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At its heart is a falling-out between a circle of well-connected laypeople who helped the church rebound financially from the clergy abuse scandal two decades ago, and a prelate staring down fresh money problems brought on by the pandemic and a new round of molestation lawsuits.
The benefactors have accused Vann of violating state law by removing them from the board of an independent charity after they rebuffed what they contend was an illegal plan to “invade” endowment funds and flout donor wishes.
Bishop Kevin W. Vann at his 2012 installation. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
They complained formally last month to the papal nuncio, the Vatican representative in Washington, D.C., and have alerted Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, the head of the American bishops’ conference, along with a cardinal in Rome who oversees clergy issues and charitable foundations for Pope Francis.
A spokeswoman said the bishop was on vacation for the month and unavailable for an interview. His representatives denied he or the church acted improperly, but declined to answer many questions about the situation, with the spokeswoman, Tracey Kincaid, saying the diocese “does not comment on internal processes.”
The situation unfolding in Orange County might be a harbinger for other dioceses. At a time when generational shifts and the fallout of the abuse scandal have made Catholics more willing than ever to question church authorities, COVID-19 is forcing controversial decisions on bishops. A Georgetown University survey of 116 American bishops published last month found that as a result of declining revenues in the pandemic, nearly a quarter were considering closing parishes and 45% either had closed elementary schools or were considering doing so.
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The church in California has added financial pressure. A state law that took effect in January allowed a three-year window for the filing of sexual abuse claims previously barred by statutes of limitation. Lawsuits are already piling up against church organizations across the state.
The most striking part of the Orange County conflict may be that the bishop’s opponents are not church critics, but devout insiders.
Two forced off the charity board by the bishop, the real estate developer Rand Sperry and Dr. Jacqueline DuPont, chief executive of assisted living companies, have received awards from the diocese for “exemplary business integrity,” and DuPont co-chaired the gala dedication last summer of Vann’s crown jewel, a gleaming new $130-million cathedral complex in Garden Grove. The board member who wrote the Vatican complaint, Tustin attorney Don Hunsberger, was honored in 2019 as Orange County’s Catholic Man of the Year.
“Not one of my brethren among the board of Directors of The Orange Catholic Foundation has ever found herself or himself in the position of having to question the actions of our Ordinary in a manner such as this,” Hunsberger, the former board secretary, wrote to the nuncio July 2, using the ecclesiastical term for bishop. “Each of us has suffered under the weight of having to make this decision.”
Most of the directors forced off the 18-member board did not return messages and those who did declined interview requests. This story is based on emails, memos and other internal diocese and foundation records as well as the accounts of people familiar with the dispute who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
California was in its first day of the COVID shutdown when the chief financial officer of the diocese approached the Orange Catholic Foundation and said the bishop needed a lot of money and quickly. CFO Elizabeth Jensen said the school system was short $8 million and parishes $4 million, according to correspondence reviewed by The Times and interviews with people familiar with the conversation.
In a follow-up email March 23 to foundation Chairman Stephen Muzzy, a Trabuco Canyon real estate and private equity investor, the CFO wrote that nine parishes lacked “enough cash to meet near-term basic expenses.” Parents in poor areas and “even some in South County” were unable to make tuition payments, she said.
“I believe the situation is getting to the point of being grave, which motivated me, on behalf of Bishop Vann, to ask for the resources from OCF for which I truly consider to be real needs,” Jensen wrote.
Money the foundation provided might be repaid down the road, she said, but “there is no guarantee. We are all in uncharted waters.”
The emergency funding request, which the board ultimately declined, was unprecedented in the foundation’s history. The nonprofit had been set up 20 years before in the midst of another crisis: Revelations that priests had sexually abused children and their superiors had covered it up. As the abuse crisis swept the country in the late 1990s and early 2000s, big donors cut back on their giving. Many said they did not trust church leaders who had covered up molestation and did not want their money going to pay legal bills or million-dollar settlements with abuse victims.
Church leadership devised a solution embraced by many dioceses: Independent foundations that benefited Catholic causes, but were outside the control of the bishop. In some cases, dioceses moved existing church assets into the new nonprofits, making them beyond the reach of plaintiffs and other creditors should the local church fall into bankruptcy.
Retired Laguna Niguel banker Jim Tecca, who chaired the foundation years before the current dispute, explained the dynamic between the diocese and the foundation in a way fitting for property-mad Orange County.
“If you are an investor in a piece of real estate, you set up a corporation rather than doing it yourself. In case there are lawsuits ... personal assets are not at risk,” Tecca said.
By the time then-Bishop Tod Brown signed a $100-million settlement with 90 victims in 2005, the independent foundation was already up and running. It grew into a prestigious and trusted organization that doled out millions in grants annually and held endowment money for parishes and institutions including Mater Dei and Santa Margarita high schools.
Bishop Tod Brown at the Holy Family Cathedral in Orange in 2004. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Its annual Conference on Business and Ethics drew high-profile speakers such as actress Patricia Heaton and Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Catholic schools while its estate planning seminars primed wealthy parishioners to leave money or property to the foundation. The average bequest to the nonprofit was a startling $867,000, according to recent marketing materials.
Critical to its success, supporters say, was donors’ view of the foundation as entirely Catholic yet independent from the hierarchy, or as its mission statement states, “an autonomous, pious foundation that works with members of our Diocese ... following each donor’s intent.”
Donors were assured that contributions will be used for the purposes they specified, whether seminarian training, care of elderly priests, parishes in poor neighborhoods, scholarships at a particular grammar school or purchase of the cathedral organ.
“We told every single donor that same mission statement,” said Susan Strader, a board member from Newport Beach who with her husband, real estate developer Tim, chaired the fundraising campaign to complete the cathedral complex. “Their money could go to candlesticks, lectionaries, stations of the cross, buildings, classrooms. There was no money that was just able to be moved out of that donor intent.”
A volunteer board dominated by lay business people governed the foundation, and its promotional materials laid out the limits of the bishop’s influence: “The Bishop of Orange is one of the voting members of the board of directors but is not the chairman.”
Tecca, the former board chair, could not recall a single legal or ethical dispute during his tenure, he said, adding, “The reason is we did what the donor said. Exactly. No question.”
Vann, a 69-year-old native of Illinois, was installed as bishop in 2012, a year after the diocese bought televangelist Robert H. Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral out of bankruptcy for $57 million. The 34-acre property needed extensive renovations that topped $72 million.
The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who died in 2015, founded Crystal Cathedral Ministries in 1955. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The cathedral had been open less than a year when the coronavirus hit. When the diocese told the foundation board in a March 19 call that it was in need of $12 million, the foundation had assets of about $45 million.
People with knowledge of the call said Jensen, the diocesan CFO, asked the foundation for the entire amount. Through a diocesan attorney, she said she never asked for $12 million and was only laying out the scope of the problem.
In a written request two days later, she identified more than $2.6 million in specific foundation accounts she wanted turned over to the diocese. She noted that the board’s funding decision “should respect the intent of the donors.”
Much of foundation money was in endowments that paid a small percentage of their value to dedicated causes annually. State law requires charities to be”prudent” when disbursing endowment money and to follow any donor instructions. The foundation’s agreements capped the amount at 5% a year. Yet Jensen was requesting 25% of two funds and 50% of another, according to her written request.
In a statement provided by the diocesan lawyer, Jensen said that when she asked for the money, “I had no specific knowledge of the particular restrictions in each of the donor agreements. For that reason, I emphasized that any limitations imposed by donors must be followed.”
In a series of phone calls and emails, board members told church officials that while they wanted to help, the law wouldn’t allow it.
“Right now you, you feel the Board’s hands are tied and cannot grant any funds for the foreseeable future,” Jensen summarized in a March 25 email that prompted the board chair, Muzzy, to reply, “I am shocked at what I perceive to be the tone of your email — that the OCF does not want to help the [bishop.]”
In a three-page letter later that day, Muzzy wrote that on the advice of its lawyers, the board was denying the diocesan request for emergency funds. He attached a copy of the state law governing endowments.
The board, he wrote, “cannot breach its fiduciary duties and statutory requirements as custodian of endowment funds. To do so would be a breach of every duty we have to our donors ...”
The bishop had other potential sources of money. The diocese annual financial report showed that as of July 2019, the diocese had $195 million in net assets with $37 million of that held in “cash and cash equivalents.” Parishes, schools and other organizations also received loans of more than $18 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, a government database indicates.
Still, in the following weeks, members of the foundation board searched for emergency money for the diocese, including soliciting donations from long-time benefactors. They handed over $1.4 million in April, according to foundation records The Times reviewed.
The money did not pacify Vann. On a June Zoom meeting with board members, he said he saw the new funds as evidence that Suzanne Nunn, a longtime foundation consultant serving as acting executive director, had lied about whether the nonprofit had money for the diocese, according to sources familiar with the situation who asked not to be named. The sources said Vann told the board to fire her. They refused, telling the bishop’s staff that Nunn served at the board’s pleasure, not his, the sources said.
Nunn declined to comment. After the bishop made his displeasure known, she decided to leave the foundation anyhow and the board was scheduled to finalize her severance agreement at a meeting June 19.
Early that morning, Vann informed the board by FedEx letters that he had decided “to remove all the current elected members” of the board. He said the board had failed to achieve goals he set out for them including establishing a strategic plan and hiring a permanent executive director, despite repeated requests.
Bishop Kevin Vann at Christ Cathedral. The Diocese of Orange has become the fastest-growing diocese in the country, at a time when most are shrinking and closing parishes and schools. (Kevin Chang)
“[S]peaking as a father to his family, there has been a loss of trust and collaboration,” he wrote, adding, “While I had hoped to avoid this outcome, I have come to believe that this is necessary and in the best interests of OCF and its mission at this particular time in our history.”
He thanked them for their service and signed the letter “Yours in Christ.”
The same day, a new chair appointed by Vann, fired Nunn.
The dismissed board, which included a parish priest from San Clemente and a 74-year-old nun who worked at the cathedral, was stunned. One former director remarked, “I feel like I’ve been fired by God,” according to sources familiar with the board’s response.
As it often does, the shock gave way to lawyers. Attorneys pored over church law and corporate governance documents, and argued that the bishop had violated state corporate law, according to emails and memos reviewed by The Times. The foundation’s bylaws allowed a majority of the board to remove a director for any reason, but the bishop was limited to removing a director only for a spiritual failing, such as excommunication or causing a public scandal, or for acting against the objectives of the foundation.
Three board members, Muzzy, Hunsberger and Newport Beach finance executive Ryan Kerrigan, told Vann in a July 2 letter that he lacked legal authority to fire the directors and urged him to reconsider.
“What have we done to deserve such arbitrary, judgmental treatment,” they wrote, copying Gomez, the head of the L.A. archdiocese, and the papal nuncio, Archbishop Christope Pierre, and another Vatican official, Cardinal Benjamin Stella.
A letter to Pierre the same day begged apologies for “sending this letter on plain white paper.”
“We have been locked out of the offices of the Foundation by order of our Ordinary, so we do not have access to stationery worthy of the recipient of this missive,” Hunsberger wrote on behalf of the fired board.
An accompanying memo prepared with a lawyer for the foundation warned of dire potential legal consequences. It charged that the bishop had opened the diocese up to suits by the ousted directors for their “illegal” removal and by Nunn for being dismissed “based on her refusal to allow illegal actions.” Additionally, the memo asserted, donors could file breach of contract suits and plaintiffs’ attorneys in the new clergy abuse suits could go after foundation money.
The bishop responded July 28, telling the three board members that the directors’ removal “was strictly in accord with the OCF Bylaws as well as canon and civil law, as I confirmed in advance, to ensure the continuing appropriate separation of OCF and the Diocese.”
‘I can’t imagine a bishop being that naive to think he can get away with that and not alienate donors, big and small’ — Charles Zech, an expert on the Catholic Church’s finances and management
A diocesan lawyer said in a statement that the foundation assets remained off limits from those with legal claims against the church.
“[T]here can be no suggestion that ... any creditor of the [diocese] can pierce the corporate veil and tap into the assets of OCF,” the lawyer wrote.
So far the Vatican has not weighed in publicly. The nuncio did not respond to messages. A spokeswoman for Gomez did not answer questions about the archbishop’s response to the conflict in Orange, but noted in an email that he “has no day-to-day administrative oversight of the Diocese of Orange.”
A member of the old board, Strader, was reappointed to the new board. Asked about her former colleagues’ complaint, she said the bishop “is the Ordinary of the diocese so they don’t really have a leg to stand on.”
Since the changeover, the new board has not disbursed more than 5% from any endowment, according to a diocesan lawyer.
The diocese’s most important donor, Timothy Busch, an Irvine entrepreneur who co-founded JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano, gave heavily to the new cathedral and gifted more than $15 million to Catholic University, declined to comment.
“I was not involved on that board or the decision,” he said in a text, adding, “Thank you for caring about church governance.”
Villanova Professor Emeritus Charles Zech, an expert on the Catholic Church’s finances and management, said that he was unaware of a similar dispute between a bishop and foundation, and called the firings “outrageous.”
“I can’t imagine a bishop being that naive to think he can get away with that and not alienate donors, big and small,” Zech said.


latimes--2020-08-26--Coronavirus takes a toll on Latinos — and the funeral homes that serve them

The novel coronavirus has ravaged California ’ s Latino communities , with many people who are front-line workers catching COVID-19 and then spreading the disease to family and neighbors .
This grim cycle of illness and death ends at places like Continental Funeral Home .
Mortuaries that serve Latino communities have been overwhelmed by families in need of help since March , with bodies in some cases stacking up as operators tried to improvise funerals that previously might have drawn extended family and mourners from far and wide .
“ It ’ s been so difficult for the families , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Continental Funeral Home .
“ They have been unable to express their condolences properly or participate in service.
” In California , Latinos make up 39 % of the state ’ s population but account for 59 % of COVID-19 infections and 47 % of deaths , according to the Immigrants have been particularly hard-hit economically amid the pandemic , with many losing their jobs and facing financial collapse .
Maldonado sees these hardships at her funeral home .
Most of her clients are immigrants from Mexico and Central America , and 60 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transporting bodies to their homelands because it ’ s less expensive to bury loved ones there .
When the coronavirus outbreak hit , a flood of bodies was sent to Maldonado ’ s funeral home .
The cold storage could hold only up to 25 at a time .
“ We were dealing with 35 to 40 bodies at one point in the month of March , ” she said .
To handle the overflow , she rented a small refrigerated storage container for $ 1,900 a month , which increased the funeral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bodies .
It also helped separate the bodies of people who died of complications from COVID-19 from those who died of other causes .
She said capacity problems had more to do with the shutdowns .
Required paperwork from state and county offices that once took a few days was taking weeks .
The process to send a body back to Mexico stretched from 10 days to two months .
Cremations that once took a day now had to be made by appointment .
“ It really caught us all off guard , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t know how to really manage this kind of emergency , and I don ’ t think anyone thought about all these other funeral problems we ’ d have.
” The pandemic has increased operating costs for Maldonado , which in turn hurts the families she ’ s been trying to serve .
The cost of transporting a body to Michoacan , Mexico , for example could grow to $ 4,200 ; in the past she could shave off about $ 1,500 if the family could not pay the full amount @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those discounts for only the neediest of families or consulates that are assisting people .
But the biggest challenge facing funeral homes is basic : How to give families a chance to mourn loved ones while keeping those who attend the funerals from getting sick .

The novel coronavirus has ravaged California’s Latino communities, with many people who are front-line workers catching COVID-19 and then spreading the disease to family and neighbors.
This grim cycle of illness and death ends at places like Continental Funeral Home. Mortuaries that serve Latino communities have been overwhelmed by families in need of help since March, with bodies in some cases stacking up as operators tried to improvise funerals that previously might have drawn extended family and mourners from far and wide.
“It’s been so difficult for the families,” said Magda Maldonado, director of Continental Funeral Home. “They have been unable to express their condolences properly or participate in service.”
Continental Funeral Home Director Magda Maldonado with caskets that have bodies inside. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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In California, Latinos make up 39% of the state’s population but account for 59% of COVID-19 infections and 47% of deaths, according to the state Department of Public Health. Immigrants have been particularly hard-hit economically amid the pandemic, with many losing their jobs and facing financial collapse.
Maldonado sees these hardships at her funeral home. Most of her clients are immigrants from Mexico and Central America, and 60% of her business is devoted to transporting bodies to their homelands because it’s less expensive to bury loved ones there.
When the coronavirus outbreak hit, a flood of bodies was sent to Maldonado’s funeral home. The cold storage could hold only up to 25 at a time.
“We were dealing with 35 to 40 bodies at one point in the month of March,” she said.
Continental Funeral Home driver Manuel Aguilar locks a mobile refrigerator used to store COVID-19 victims. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
To handle the overflow, she rented a small refrigerated storage container for $1,900 a month, which increased the funeral home’s capacity to about 55 bodies. It also helped separate the bodies of people who died of complications from COVID-19 from those who died of other causes.
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She said capacity problems had more to do with the shutdowns. Required paperwork from state and county offices that once took a few days was taking weeks. The process to send a body back to Mexico stretched from 10 days to two months. Cremations that once took a day now had to be made by appointment.
“It really caught us all off guard,” Maldonado said. “Local governments didn’t know how to really manage this kind of emergency, and I don’t think anyone thought about all these other funeral problems we’d have.”
Caskets with bodies inside fill a break room at Continental Funeral Home. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The pandemic has increased operating costs for Maldonado, which in turn hurts the families she’s been trying to serve. The cost of transporting a body to Michoacan, Mexico, for example could grow to $4,200; in the past she could shave off about $1,500 if the family could not pay the full amount. But now, she has reserved those discounts for only the neediest of families or consulates that are assisting people.
But the biggest challenge facing funeral homes is basic: How to give families a chance to mourn loved ones while keeping those who attend the funerals from getting sick.
Bodies are stored, awaiting processing at Continental Funeral Home. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Continental Funeral Home driver Manuel Aguilar handles one of the COVID-19 victims held in a mobile refrigerator outside the facility. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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latimes--2020-08-26--Lawmakers want to extend California utility customer fee for wildfire and climate projects

With more than 1 million acres burning in California , state lawmakers are pushing a last-minute proposal that would extend an existing fee on electricity bills to fund $ 500 million for immediate wildfire response and another $ 2.5 billion over time for climate resiliency and fire mitigation projects .
The legislation adopts the same financing mechanism as a 2019 law that extended a fee on utility bills for 15 years to finance bonds for a $ 21-billion insurance pool to pay utility wildfire damages .
This time , the same fee would be extended for another decade until 2045 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or more than $ 3 billion over 10 years — for bonds to pay for wildfire prevention work , according to a document reviewed by The Times and interviews with lawmakers and legislative staff .
“ It would be negligent for the Legislature to end our session without taking immediate action to generate more resources for battling wildfires across California and mitigating the resulting environmental damage , ” said Assemblyman Kevin Mullin ( D-South San Francisco ) , a coauthor of the bill .
“ It is also imperative that we better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dangerous fire seasons to come.
” The plan was introduced late Tuesday as wildfires raged up and down the state .
While some of California ’ s deadliest wildfires in recent years have been caused by failed utility equipment , state officials said lightning strikes sparked the major fires burning in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties , and other parts of the state .
The new proposal also comes after attempts to place taxpayer-funded climate bonds on the 2020 ballot stalled at the state Capitol two years in a row .
AB @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faces difficult two-thirds votes in the Senate and Assembly by the end of the legislative session on Monday — a higher threshold for legislative passage to ensure the measure would take effect as soon as it is signed into law .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom declined to comment on whether he supports AB 1659 , which would develop immediate and longer-term plans to spend the bond proceeds .
The first plan , which would be developed within 30 days from the date the bill is enacted , calls for the state to borrow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state surplus cash fund to train new firefighters , respond to wildfire emergencies and carry out immediate projects to reduce wildfire risks .
The state would pay the money back by the end of the fiscal year using proceeds from the revenue bonds , according to the document .
A longer-term spending plan to be formed within six months of the bill ’ s passage would spend the bond proceeds on wildfire mitigation and climate projects .
Of the money , $ 100 million would go toward workforce training , with $ 200 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for fire detection , warning and evacuation systems , emergency communication and disaster planning .
The bill would allocate $ 300 million to the state Natural Resources Agency for prescribed burns , home hardening , defensible space and other projects to reduce risks in California ’ s wildland-urban interface regions , and $ 300 million to reduce fire risks and repair damage at state parks .
In addition , $ 200 million would be distributed by the California Wildlife Conservation Board for forest restoration and wildfire resilience , and $ 300 million would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cooling centers and solar power .
Assemblyman Richard Bloom ( D-Santa Monica ) , who introduced the bill , said the current wildfires added a sense of urgency to plans in the Legislature to do more to prevent wildfires before the pandemic hit and the economy collapsed .
“ This is , to some degree , born out of that desire to do something in that space , but it became imperative as we watched this recent series of fires rage through the state , ” Bloom said .
The bill ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on customers of Pacific Gas & Electric , Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric is already raising concerns among some lawmakers .
Newsom and the Legislature quickly crafted and passed Assembly Bill 1054 last summer amid pressure from Wall Street to reduce the utility industry ’ s liability for wildfire damages linked to their electrical poles and equipment .
Lawmakers made it easier for utilities to avoid being on the hook for wildfire damages through a new safety certification process and created a $ 21-billion fund as an additional shield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equipment .
Utility customers were required to pay half of the $ 21 billion through a 15-year extension of an existing charge on monthly bills that was originally expected to expire by 2021 .
Advocates of AB 1054 said that the law didn ’ t increase customer rates — an argument that is being repeated this year .
“ One of the things you hear over and over again in Sacramento is , well if you want to do something , what ’ s the funding source going to be ?
” Bloom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no different in this case .
The cause is compelling but it still needs a funding source and this one is quite elegant .
It ’ s a relatively small fee that ratepayers are already paying .
”

With more than 1 million acres burning in California, state lawmakers are pushing a last-minute proposal that would extend an existing fee on electricity bills to fund $500 million for immediate wildfire response and another $2.5 billion over time for climate resiliency and fire mitigation projects.
The legislation adopts the same financing mechanism as a 2019 law that extended a fee on utility bills for 15 years to finance bonds for a $21-billion insurance pool to pay utility wildfire damages. This time, the same fee would be extended for another decade until 2045 — costing ratepayers 96 cents a month, or more than $3 billion over 10 years — for bonds to pay for wildfire prevention work, according to a document reviewed by The Times and interviews with lawmakers and legislative staff.
“It would be negligent for the Legislature to end our session without taking immediate action to generate more resources for battling wildfires across California and mitigating the resulting environmental damage,” said Assemblyman Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco), a coauthor of the bill. “It is also imperative that we better prepare our state for longer and more dangerous fire seasons to come.”
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The plan was introduced late Tuesday as wildfires raged up and down the state. While some of California’s deadliest wildfires in recent years have been caused by failed utility equipment, state officials said lightning strikes sparked the major fires burning in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, and other parts of the state.
The new proposal also comes after attempts to place taxpayer-funded climate bonds on the 2020 ballot stalled at the state Capitol two years in a row. AB 1659 does not need voter approval but faces difficult two-thirds votes in the Senate and Assembly by the end of the legislative session on Monday — a higher threshold for legislative passage to ensure the measure would take effect as soon as it is signed into law.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declined to comment on whether he supports AB 1659, which would develop immediate and longer-term plans to spend the bond proceeds.
The first plan, which would be developed within 30 days from the date the bill is enacted, calls for the state to borrow and spend $500 million from a state surplus cash fund to train new firefighters, respond to wildfire emergencies and carry out immediate projects to reduce wildfire risks. The state would pay the money back by the end of the fiscal year using proceeds from the revenue bonds, according to the document.
A longer-term spending plan to be formed within six months of the bill’s passage would spend the bond proceeds on wildfire mitigation and climate projects. Of the money, $100 million would go toward workforce training, with $200 million for local and state government grants for fire detection, warning and evacuation systems, emergency communication and disaster planning.
The bill would allocate $300 million to the state Natural Resources Agency for prescribed burns, home hardening, defensible space and other projects to reduce risks in California’s wildland-urban interface regions, and $300 million to reduce fire risks and repair damage at state parks. In addition, $200 million would be distributed by the California Wildlife Conservation Board for forest restoration and wildfire resilience, and $300 million would be set aside for projects such as cooling centers and solar power.
Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), who introduced the bill, said the current wildfires added a sense of urgency to plans in the Legislature to do more to prevent wildfires before the pandemic hit and the economy collapsed.
“This is, to some degree, born out of that desire to do something in that space, but it became imperative as we watched this recent series of fires rage through the state,” Bloom said.
The bill’s reliance on another extension of a fee on customers of Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric is already raising concerns among some lawmakers.
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Newsom and the Legislature quickly crafted and passed Assembly Bill 1054 last summer amid pressure from Wall Street to reduce the utility industry’s liability for wildfire damages linked to their electrical poles and equipment. Lawmakers made it easier for utilities to avoid being on the hook for wildfire damages through a new safety certification process and created a $21-billion fund as an additional shield against losses from blazes linked to their equipment.
Utility customers were required to pay half of the $21 billion through a 15-year extension of an existing charge on monthly bills that was originally expected to expire by 2021. Advocates of AB 1054 said that the law didn’t increase customer rates — an argument that is being repeated this year.
“One of the things you hear over and over again in Sacramento is, well if you want to do something, what’s the funding source going to be?” Bloom said. “And that’s no different in this case. The cause is compelling but it still needs a funding source and this one is quite elegant. It’s a relatively small fee that ratepayers are already paying.”


latimes--2020-08-25--Britney Spears' sister makes move to control pop star's assets

Britney Spears ’ sister Jamie Lynn Spears , who was selected as trustee of the pop superstar ’ s multimillion-dollar estate two years ago , is now seeking more control over the performer ’ s fortune amid an increasingly heated struggle over a complicated conservatorship .
In a court filing last week , Jamie Lynn Spears , a 29-year-old former Nickelodeon star , revealed that she was the trustee of the estate and asked that all the assets of the SJB Revocable Trust be moved into one or more accounts with Fidelity Brokerage Services with her as the custodian .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Britney Spears ’ financial assets into those accounts and require a judge ’ s approval to remove them .
The singer established the trust in 2004 to protect her children ’ s future .
A 2018 amendment said that upon her death , the trustee — Jamie Lynn Spears — would administer the family ’ s assets for her children .
Jamie Lynn Spears signed the document last week in Hammond , La .
The filing doesn ’ t explain what role it could play in the ongoing battle over the singer ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other states as a legal guardianship .
That conservatorship was extended to 2021 even after the singer ’ s attorney told the court this month that she is “ strongly opposed ” to her father remaining the sole conservator of her personal and financial well-being .
According to Los Angeles County Superior Court records , James “ Jamie ” Spears , who has had broad authority over his daughter ’ s life since her breakdowns in 2008 , requested the reappointment of attorney Andrew M. Wallet as a co-conservator of the singer ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ submitted additional documentation to continue the conservatorship , including checking a box saying that his 38-year-old daughter is “ substantially unable to manage his or her financial resources or to resist fraud or undue influence.
” Wallet consented to act as the co-conservator in documents .
He previously held the position from Jan. 5 , 2009 , until the court accepted his voluntary resignation on March 4 , 2019 .
At the time , he said that the singer would suffer “ substantial detriment , irreparable harm and immediate danger ” if he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then , Jamie Spears has been the sole conservator of his daughter ’ s estate , but she has recently attempted to curb that power .
The `` ... Baby One More Time ” hitmaker has not had full control over her life or business affairs since her public unraveling , and her case has been complicated over the years while mostly concealed in probate court .
Britney Spears ’ attorney has filed documents requested that Jodi Montgomery — the temporary , licensed professional conservator overseeing since September — be named permanent conservator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As for her estate , the singer strongly opposed her father continuing in that capacity by himself and preferred to have a “ qualified corporate fiduciary ” appointed to serve in the role instead .
Britney Spears said that did not mean she would be waiving her right to seek an end to the entire arrangement .
She also stated that she wants to stop performing .
In January 2019 , she in Las Vegas before it even began , then checked into a mental health facility after revealing that her father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live since 2018 .

Jamie Lynn Spears, left, sister of pop star Britney Spears, said in a court filing that she is the trustee of the singer’s estate and is asking that all assets from a trust be moved, with her as the custodian.
Britney Spears’ sister Jamie Lynn Spears, who was selected as trustee of the pop superstar’s multimillion-dollar estate two years ago, is now seeking more control over the performer’s fortune amid an increasingly heated struggle over a complicated conservatorship.
In a court filing last week, Jamie Lynn Spears, a 29-year-old former Nickelodeon star, revealed that she was the trustee of the estate and asked that all the assets of the SJB Revocable Trust be moved into one or more accounts with Fidelity Brokerage Services with her as the custodian.
If approved, the move would put Britney Spears’ financial assets into those accounts and require a judge’s approval to remove them. The singer established the trust in 2004 to protect her children’s future. A 2018 amendment said that upon her death, the trustee — Jamie Lynn Spears — would administer the family’s assets for her children. Jamie Lynn Spears signed the document last week in Hammond, La.
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The filing doesn’t explain what role it could play in the ongoing battle over the singer’s protracted conservatorship case — known in other states as a legal guardianship. That conservatorship was extended to 2021 even after the singer’s attorney told the court this month that she is “strongly opposed” to her father remaining the sole conservator of her personal and financial well-being.
According to Los Angeles County Superior Court records, James “Jamie” Spears, who has had broad authority over his daughter’s life since her breakdowns in 2008, requested the reappointment of attorney Andrew M. Wallet as a co-conservator of the singer’s person and estate.
Jamie Spears submitted additional documentation to continue the conservatorship, including checking a box saying that his 38-year-old daughter is “substantially unable to manage his or her financial resources or to resist fraud or undue influence.”
Wallet consented to act as the co-conservator in documents. He previously held the position from Jan. 5, 2009, until the court accepted his voluntary resignation on March 4, 2019. At the time, he said that the singer would suffer “substantial detriment, irreparable harm and immediate danger” if he didn’t step down.
Since then, Jamie Spears has been the sole conservator of his daughter’s estate, but she has recently attempted to curb that power.
The “... Baby One More Time” hitmaker has not had full control over her life or business affairs since her public unraveling, and her case has been complicated over the years while mostly concealed in probate court.
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Britney Spears’ attorney has filed documents requested that Jodi Montgomery — the temporary, licensed professional conservator overseeing her case since September — be named permanent conservator of the entertainer’s personal affairs. As for her estate, the singer strongly opposed her father continuing in that capacity by himself and preferred to have a “qualified corporate fiduciary” appointed to serve in the role instead.
Britney Spears said that did not mean she would be waiving her right to seek an end to the entire arrangement. She also stated that she wants to stop performing. In January 2019, she abruptly canceled her “Britney: Domination” residency in Las Vegas before it even began, then checked into a mental health facility after revealing that her father was sick. She has not performed live since 2018.
Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.