latimes--2020-02-22--Showers and thunderstorms move through L.A. area

Light showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected to continue moving across the Los Angeles area through Saturday .
The rain is expected to be heaviest in the morning and early afternoon but will linger through most of the day , especially in the mountain areas , where it could continue until early Sunday , said Kathy Hoxsie , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard .
Temperatures are only expected to reach the low- or mid-60s across the coasts and valleys .
There ’ s also a chance of thunderstorms in the morning continuing into the afternoon for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as the waters near Catalina Island , the weather service said .
Any thunderstorm could produce brief heavy downpours , gusty winds , hail , and waterspouts over coastal waters .
Snow levels are expected to drop to 5,000 feet Saturday , with several inches of new snow falling in the resort areas , Hoxsie said .
Winter weather is not expected to pose any major problems for mountain passes .
Rainfall totals are expected to be low , with less than a quarter inch in most areas and up to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though any area that sees a thunderstorm could have higher amounts , according to the weather service .
The rain is expected to clear up by Sunday , and clouds are forecast to give way to sunny skies .
That will be followed by breezy offshore winds and above-normal temperatures Monday and lasting through the rest of the week , according to the weather service .
“ Monday is when it really jumps by a noticeable amount , and certainly by Tuesday it ’ ll be another 5 degrees warmer , ” Hoxsie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and even some of the coastal plain will be up into the low 80s by Tuesday .
”

Light showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected to continue moving across the Los Angeles area through Saturday.
The rain is expected to be heaviest in the morning and early afternoon but will linger through most of the day, especially in the mountain areas, where it could continue until early Sunday, said Kathy Hoxsie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Temperatures are only expected to reach the low- or mid-60s across the coasts and valleys.
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There’s also a chance of thunderstorms in the morning continuing into the afternoon for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, as well as the waters near Catalina Island, the weather service said. Any thunderstorm could produce brief heavy downpours, gusty winds, hail, and waterspouts over coastal waters.
Radar Loop as of 745 AM.
Scattered showers/Isolated #TSTMs continue. Strongest cell between #SantaBarbara and #Carpinteria.
Expect brief heavy rain (rates of 0.20-0.40 inches per hour) with shower/TSTM activity. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/KF7sSXkeqN — NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) February 22, 2020
Snow levels are expected to drop to 5,000 feet Saturday, with several inches of new snow falling in the resort areas, Hoxsie said. Winter weather is not expected to pose any major problems for mountain passes.
Rainfall totals are expected to be low, with less than a quarter inch in most areas and up to a half an inch in the mountains, though any area that sees a thunderstorm could have higher amounts, according to the weather service.
The rain is expected to clear up by Sunday, and clouds are forecast to give way to sunny skies. That will be followed by breezy offshore winds and above-normal temperatures Monday and lasting through the rest of the week, according to the weather service.
“Monday is when it really jumps by a noticeable amount, and certainly by Tuesday it’ll be another 5 degrees warmer,” Hoxsie said. “So the valley areas and even some of the coastal plain will be up into the low 80s by Tuesday.”


latimes--2020-02-22--How to vote the new way in L.A. (in 2020)

Los Angeles County introduced a number of new features and ways to vote for their 2020 elections .
From bigger @ @ @ @ @ , and even new machines .
As a way to help viewers discover the new @ @ @ @ @ ways they can vote , we created this 90s-inspired infomercial for you .

Los Angeles County introduced a number of new features and ways to vote for their 2020 elections. From bigger locations, to more days, and even new machines.
As a way to help viewers discover the new rules, locations, and ways they can vote, we created this 90s-inspired infomercial for you.
Also: Everything you need to know about California’s 2020 primary election California’s primary election is March 3, 2020. Here’s what you need to know about the presidential candidates and voting on Super Tuesday.


latimes--2020-02-22--Spanish-language newsstand, a 1940s Boyle Heights gem, braces for the end

Rafael Ramos stood at his Boyle Heights newsstand on a sunny morning .
Above , a faded green awning proclaimed : ALL KINDS OF SPANISH MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS .
Over the buzz of traffic at the corner of 1st and Soto streets , he chatted with his lone employee .
Pedestrians walked past the newsstand , crossing the street toward the Metro Gold Line station .
Hours could go by without a sale , so Ramos mostly waited .
Margarita Chipres walked up and thumbed through a copy of TV Notas , a gossip magazine about Latino celebrities .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s chisme , she said .
But even if she was one of Ramos ’ regulars , she wasn ’ t going to spend a dime .
“ They don ’ t want to give me a magazine , ” Chipres said , feigning disappointment before strolling away .
“ These are my clients .
Puros quinceañeros , ” Ramos joked with bemused resignation .
Just young folks .
The 71-year-old Highland Park resident has owned the newsstand for 25 years , but like the rest of the publishing business , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revolution that has seduced the eyes of the young away from print .
Ramos ’ customers are almost entirely elderly immigrants .
For their children or their children ’ s children , the pages of Mexican news publications such as La Jornada and Proceso or Spanish-language gossip magazines hold little allure .
Growing up American , they were as likely to listen to Nirvana as they were Los Tigres del Norte , let alone pay to read what their immigrant elders read .
By any metric , especially in an old Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that was bad news .
By Ramos ’ reckoning , he is destined to close shop before the year ends .
“ We tell people we ’ re going to close and they say , ‘ How could you close ?
’ ” he said .
“ Basically without earnings , we ’ re open just to be there .
You can ’ t live off the newsstand business anymore.
” In the late 1940s , the newsstand opened at this very intersection .
Several people have owned it over the generations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a true polyglot melting pot of Mexican , Jewish , Italian , Eastern European , Japanese and other people to one of L.A. 's capitals of Mexican American culture .
Then , and for decades after , reading newspapers was the main way people of all stripes got the news — a reality captured in many a Hollywood movie in which scenes often featured a protagonist ( think Michael Corleone finding out his father has been shot in “ The Godfather ” ) leafing through their pages in grim discovery .
Long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mechanic from Highland Park perusing the pages of the newsstand ’ s wares .
Then , one day , the owner made Ramos an offer he , apparently , couldn ’ t refuse .
“ ‘ Come on , buy it !
’ ” the man told him .
“ ‘ It hasn ’ t made me rich , but it ’ s a job like any other , to live.
’ ” Ramos had grown tired of the physical strain of his work as a mechanic .
He felt the creep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a go of the newspaper business .
“ So , he convinced me , and I bought it , ” Ramos said .
In the beginning , business was good .
Every day , he ’ d sell up to 40 copies of the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión .
Now he stocks just 10 and will sell four or five in a day , Ramos said .
Dozens of copies of the Los Angeles Times — one of the few English-only offerings — would once fly away in a day .
Now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tragedies seemed to bring the most customers to his stand : when Luis Donaldo Colosio , a Mexican presidential candidate , was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tijuana ; when superstar entertainer Jenni Rivera was killed in a plane crash ; when the singer Selena was shot to death by one of her employees .
“ You ’ re there , surrounded by the day ’ s news as people are learning everything , ” he said .
“ You know about everything .
The news at your fingertips.
” Ramos ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ L.A. with the greatest variety of Spanish-language offerings , he said .
Besides Mexican newspapers and other Spanish-language publications are some random finds : a Rolling Stone magazine tucked behind an illustrated novela featuring a blond man and woman locked in a romantic embrace .
There ’ s Playboy en Español sitting atop a food magazine .
Next to a magazine devoted to the late Mexican singer José José hangs a health magazine titled Para Adoloridos , Vol .
2 .
( For those with aches and pains , Volume 2 . )
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the great print bloodletting .
Many more succumbed a long time ago .
Every so often , someone will ask for Alarma , a gory tabloid about crime in Mexico that featured a crossword puzzle with a scantily clad woman amid the hyper-graphic carnage .
Thursday mornings are the newsstand ’ s busiest time .
On a recent one , Humberto Gomez , 72 , sat on a folding chair at its edge , quietly reading through a novela from the classic “ El Libro Vaquero ” series , which told tales about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the pages , Gomez envisioned cowboys riding through vast deserts .
“ I love reading to entertain the mind and not think about negative things , ” he said .
“ It keeps your mind working.
” For Gomez , the pulpy stories in the novelas felt like an antidote to the depressing news on TV .
He couldn ’ t stand to watch or hear or read any more about the helicopter crash that killed Lakers great Kobe Bryant , his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people .
The newsstand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ novela habit started as a boy ; it was an inheritance from his father .
Now he comes here to read almost daily .
“ They even have a little chair for me , ” he said .
Here , the retired cab driver meets friends like Chipres , the regular visitor and , sometimes , paying customer .
Years ago , when the mother of six sometimes needed help to get to the grocery store , she counted on Gomez to be her ride .
He ’ d wait outside the store @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s service most other taxi drivers won ’ t offer , Gomez boasted .
Their lives have slowed down and they don ’ t get around like they used to , but they still see each other , from time to time , at Ramos ’ stand .
On this Thursday , Chipres returned after she left without buying .
“ I don ’ t mark the date .
I don ’ t have a schedule , ” Chipres said .
“ I always pass by here and I entertain myself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other ’ s hair out.
” For the second time , she left without making a purchase .
The newsstand ’ s sole employee , 61-year-old Gerardo Campos , sits or stands near the cash register beneath a sign that reads : “ Open Thursday through Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ” Unlike Ramos , Campos is not much for chitchat .
When he makes a sale , he wordlessly exchanges money .
He shuffles from one end of the newsstand to the other , occasionally unfolding a short ladder to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he makes the smallest of small talk with the regulars .
He thinks about his looming retirement , in March .
Ramos is the owner of the newsstand , but Campos is its keeper .
He keeps all of its modest earnings .
That usually amounts to a few hundred dollars — on a good month .
Ramos sees the stand as a way to help his friend , Campos , make a few bucks .
But Campos doesn ’ t see a point in continuing to mind a stand the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going downhill now , ” Campos said .
“ This is all going to be over soon.
” The newsstand has survived this long partly because of people like 82-year-old Carlos Bacelis , who delivers Mexican publications to stands across L.A. that have a heavily working-class and immigrant population .
Bacelis travels from his home in El Monte to Tijuana , where he picks up stacks of Spanish-language newspapers and magazines , some from Mexico City .
On most Thursdays , Bacelis makes the drive back up to Los Angeles , stopping at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of other stands : two in downtown , one at Pico and Western , and one at 7th and Alvarado .
He started the gig in the 1980s , when he got a job delivering newspapers for a publishing company called AmerMex .
When that company shut down , he kept delivering .
“ I do it as a distraction , so I ’ m not at home watching TV all day , ” Bacelis said .
“ My clients are my friends .
I sit and chat with them , and sometimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his clientele has shrunk .
As he drove around L.A. in his truck , Bacelis saw stands that had shut down one by one : in San Fernando ; in Van Nuys ; in Pacoima , Encino and Hollywood .
“ Everything has its time , ” he said .
“ Everything begins and everything ends.
” Ramos does not shy away from that reality .
From his corner stand , he has watched Boyle Heights change .
But he doesn ’ t see anything on the horizon that will change things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maybe someone will come around and maybe Ramos will persuade them to take this gamble at 1st and Soto .
But Ramos would be considerably less sanguine than the man who sold him on the newsstand dream so many years ago .
“ I ’ d be honest and say , ‘ Look , you won ’ t earn a living here , ’ ” he said .
“ I don ’ t know what ’ ll happen .
”

Rafael Ramos, 71, bought the newsstand at 1st and Soto streets in Boyle Heights 25 years ago. By his reckoning, he is destined to close shop before the year ends.
Rafael Ramos stood at his Boyle Heights newsstand on a sunny morning. Above, a faded green awning proclaimed: ALL KINDS OF SPANISH MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS.
Over the buzz of traffic at the corner of 1st and Soto streets, he chatted with his lone employee. Pedestrians walked past the newsstand, crossing the street toward the Metro Gold Line station. Hours could go by without a sale, so Ramos mostly waited.
Margarita Chipres walked up and thumbed through a copy of TV Notas, a gossip magazine about Latino celebrities. The 75-year-old likes to know the world’s chisme, she said. But even if she was one of Ramos’ regulars, she wasn’t going to spend a dime.
“They don’t want to give me a magazine,” Chipres said, feigning disappointment before strolling away.
“These are my clients. Puros quinceañeros,” Ramos joked with bemused resignation. Just young folks.
The 71-year-old Highland Park resident has owned the newsstand for 25 years, but like the rest of the publishing business, it’s been hit hard by a digital revolution that has seduced the eyes of the young away from print. Ramos’ customers are almost entirely elderly immigrants. For their children or their children’s children, the pages of Mexican news publications such as La Jornada and Proceso or Spanish-language gossip magazines hold little allure.
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Growing up American, they were as likely to listen to Nirvana as they were Los Tigres del Norte, let alone pay to read what their immigrant elders read. By any metric, especially in an old Los Angeles neighborhood that skewed toward a younger demographic, that was bad news.
By Ramos’ reckoning, he is destined to close shop before the year ends.
“We tell people we’re going to close and they say, ‘How could you close?’” he said. “Basically without earnings, we’re open just to be there. You can’t live off the newsstand business anymore.”
Margarita Chipres drops by to purchase a copy of La Opinión from the newsstand, which opened in the late 1940s. The customers are mostly elderly immigrants. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
In the late 1940s, the newsstand opened at this very intersection. Several people have owned it over the generations — years during which Boyle Heights went from a true polyglot melting pot of Mexican, Jewish, Italian, Eastern European, Japanese and other people to one of L.A.’s capitals of Mexican American culture.
Then, and for decades after, reading newspapers was the main way people of all stripes got the news — a reality captured in many a Hollywood movie in which scenes often featured a protagonist (think Michael Corleone finding out his father has been shot in “The Godfather”) leafing through their pages in grim discovery.
Long before he bought it, Ramos was a mechanic from Highland Park perusing the pages of the newsstand’s wares. Then, one day, the owner made Ramos an offer he, apparently, couldn’t refuse.
“‘Come on, buy it!’” the man told him. “‘It hasn’t made me rich, but it’s a job like any other, to live.’”
Advertisement
Ramos had grown tired of the physical strain of his work as a mechanic. He felt the creep of age and thought he could make a go of the newspaper business.
“So, he convinced me, and I bought it,” Ramos said.
In the beginning, business was good. Every day, he’d sell up to 40 copies of the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión. Now he stocks just 10 and will sell four or five in a day, Ramos said. Dozens of copies of the Los Angeles Times — one of the few English-only offerings — would once fly away in a day. Now, maybe one or two.
The worst tragedies seemed to bring the most customers to his stand: when Luis Donaldo Colosio, a Mexican presidential candidate, was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tijuana; when superstar entertainer Jenni Rivera was killed in a plane crash; when the singer Selena was shot to death by one of her employees.
“You’re there, surrounded by the day’s news as people are learning everything,” he said. “You know about everything. The news at your fingertips.”
Ramos’ newsstand remains one of the largest in L.A. with the greatest variety of Spanish-language offerings, he said.
Several people have owned the newsstand over the generations — years during which Boyle Heights went from a true polyglot melting pot of Mexican, Jewish, Italian, Eastern European, Japanese and other people to one of L.A.’s capitals of Mexican American culture. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Besides Mexican newspapers and other Spanish-language publications are some random finds: a Rolling Stone magazine tucked behind an illustrated novela featuring a blond man and woman locked in a romantic embrace. There’s Playboy en Español sitting atop a food magazine. Next to a magazine devoted to the late Mexican singer José José hangs a health magazine titled Para Adoloridos, Vol. 2. (For those with aches and pains, Volume 2.)
These are the publications that have survived the great print bloodletting. Many more succumbed a long time ago. Every so often, someone will ask for Alarma, a gory tabloid about crime in Mexico that featured a crossword puzzle with a scantily clad woman amid the hyper-graphic carnage.
Thursday mornings are the newsstand’s busiest time. On a recent one, Humberto Gomez, 72, sat on a folding chair at its edge, quietly reading through a novela from the classic “El Libro Vaquero” series, which told tales about the Old West.
As he flipped through the pages, Gomez envisioned cowboys riding through vast deserts.
“I love reading to entertain the mind and not think about negative things,” he said. “It keeps your mind working.”
For Gomez, the pulpy stories in the novelas felt like an antidote to the depressing news on TV. He couldn’t stand to watch or hear or read any more about the helicopter crash that killed Lakers great Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people. The newsstand was an escape. Gomez said his novela habit started as a boy; it was an inheritance from his father. Now he comes here to read almost daily.
“They even have a little chair for me,” he said.
Here, the retired cab driver meets friends like Chipres, the regular visitor and, sometimes, paying customer.
Years ago, when the mother of six sometimes needed help to get to the grocery store, she counted on Gomez to be her ride. He’d wait outside the store and help her unload her bags. That’s service most other taxi drivers won’t offer, Gomez boasted.
Their lives have slowed down and they don’t get around like they used to, but they still see each other,from time to time, at Ramos’ stand.
On this Thursday, Chipres returned after she left without buying.
“I don’t mark the date. I don’t have a schedule,” Chipres said. “I always pass by here and I entertain myself. We get angry and pull each other’s hair out.”
For the second time, she left without making a purchase.
The newsstand’s sole employee, 61-year-old Gerardo Campos, sits or stands near the cash register beneath a sign that reads: “Open Thursday through Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.”
Like the rest of the publishing business, the newsstand has been hit hard by the digital revolution. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Unlike Ramos, Campos is not much for chitchat. When he makes a sale, he wordlessly exchanges money. He shuffles from one end of the newsstand to the other, occasionally unfolding a short ladder to rearrange the magazines above him. Sometimes, he makes the smallest of small talk with the regulars. He thinks about his looming retirement, in March.
Ramos is the owner of the newsstand, but Campos is its keeper. He keeps all of its modest earnings. That usually amounts to a few hundred dollars — on a good month. Ramos sees the stand as a way to help his friend, Campos, make a few bucks. But Campos doesn’t see a point in continuing to mind a stand the way things are going.
“This is going downhill now,” Campos said. “This is all going to be over soon.”
The newsstand has survived this long partly because of people like 82-year-old Carlos Bacelis, who delivers Mexican publications to stands across L.A. that have a heavily working-class and immigrant population.
Bacelis travels from his home in El Monte to Tijuana, where he picks up stacks of Spanish-language newspapers and magazines, some from Mexico City. On most Thursdays, Bacelis makes the drive back up to Los Angeles, stopping at 1st and Soto, and a handful of other stands: two in downtown, one at Pico and Western, and one at 7th and Alvarado.
He started the gig in the 1980s, when he got a job delivering newspapers for a publishing company called AmerMex. When that company shut down, he kept delivering.
“I do it as a distraction, so I’m not at home watching TV all day,” Bacelis said. “My clients are my friends. I sit and chat with them, and sometimes we have lunch.”
Over the years, his clientele has shrunk. As he drove around L.A. in his truck, Bacelis saw stands that had shut down one by one: in San Fernando; in Van Nuys; in Pacoima, Encino and Hollywood.
“Everything has its time,” he said. “Everything begins and everything ends.”
Ramos does not shy away from that reality. From his corner stand, he has watched Boyle Heights change. But he doesn’t see anything on the horizon that will change things for the better for his business.
Maybe someone will come around and maybe Ramos will persuade them to take this gamble at 1st and Soto. But Ramos would be considerably less sanguine than the man who sold him on the newsstand dream so many years ago.
“I’d be honest and say, ‘Look, you won’t earn a living here,’” he said. “I don’t know what’ll happen.”


latimes--2020-02-22--Trump has flipped the 9th Circuit — and some new judges are causing a 'shock wave'

When President Trump ticks off his accomplishments since taking office , he frequently mentions his aggressive makeover of a key sector of the federal judiciary — the circuit courts of appeal , where he has appointed 51 judges to lifetime jobs in three years .
In few places has the effect been felt more powerfully than in the sprawling 9th Circuit , which covers California and eight other states .
Because of Trump ’ s success in filling vacancies , the San Francisco-based circuit , long dominated by Democratic appointees , has suddenly shifted to the right , with an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years ahead .
Trump has now named 10 judges to the 9th Circuit — more than one-third of its active judges — compared with seven appointed by President Obama over eight years .
“ Trump has effectively flipped the circuit , ” said 9th Circuit Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. , an appointee of President George W. Bush .
To assess the early impact of these appointments , The Times interviewed several judges on the 9th Circuit .
Some either declined to discuss their colleagues or inner deliberations or refused to be quoted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorized to speak about what goes on behind the scenes .
To be sure , some of the new appointees to the 9th Circuit have quickly won the respect of their colleagues .
But the rapid influx of so many judges — most without judicial experience — has put strains upon the court and stirred criticism among judges appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents .
“ Ten new people at once sends a shock wave through the system , ” a 9th Circuit judge said .
Among those who have caused the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a former federal prosecutor and partner of a prestigious law firm .
Some judges said that in the early months of his tenure , Collins has appeared oblivious to court tradition .
He has sent memos at all times of the night in violation of a court rule and objected to other judges ’ rulings in language that some colleagues found combative , they said .
Collins also moved quickly to challenge rulings by his new colleagues , calling for review of five decisions by three-judge panels , and some of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assigned to his first panel , judges said .
Active judges vote on the calls behind the scenes , and the public becomes aware of a failed effort only when dissents are later filed by the judges who favored reconsideration .
Judges said it was unprecedented for a new jurist to try to overturn so many decisions in such a short period of time .
The court has so far rejected most of Collins ’ calls .
“ Collins has definitely bulldozed his way around here already in a short time , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Either he doesn ’ t care or doesn ’ t realize that he has offended half the court already.
” Collins did not respond to a request for an interview .
Democratic appointees still make up the majority of active judges — 16 to 13 .
But the court also has judges on “ senior status ” who continue to sit on panels that decide cases .
Senior status rank gives judges more flexibility but allows them to continue to work , even full time .
Of the senior judges who will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — reading briefs and issuing rulings — 10 are Republicans and only three are Democratic appointees , Smith said .
“ You will see a sea change in the 9th Circuit on day-to-day decisions , ” Smith predicted .
The biggest change will come in controversial cases that test the constitutionality of laws and the legal ability of presidents to establish contentious new rules .
The 9th Circuit is weighing challenges to Trump on a wide array of issues , from immigration to reproductive rights , and the rightward tilt is likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevail .
Only two of the 9th Circuit appointees have prior judicial experience — Bridget S. Bade and Danielle Hunsaker .
They also are the only women among the court ’ s new judges .
Three are Asian Americans — one an openly gay man who has two children with his husband .
The other five are white men .
Several went to the nation ’ s top universities .
The American Bar Assn .
rated six of the 10 , including Collins , “ well qualified , ” the group ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Three received the lower “ qualified ” rating , and one , Lawrence VanDyke , was found to be “ not qualified.
” Though conservative , the Trump appointees to the 9th Circuit are not monolithic .
Two Trump appointees — Bade , a former federal court magistrate , and Mark J. Bennett , a former attorney general of Hawaii — are regarded by their colleagues as experienced and collegial .
Trump appointee Eric D. Miller also has drawn positive reviews from both Democratic and Republican appointees .
Before his appointment , Miller @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major law firm .
“ I think he will be a good judge , ” a 9th Circuit veteran said .
But Trump appointee Judge Ryan D. Nelson rattled other members of the court when he suggested during a hearing in August that the 9th Circuit remove a respected San Francisco district judge , Edward M. Chen , from a case .
The 9th Circuit rarely takes cases away from district judges and only in extreme situations .
Chen , a former ACLU lawyer , was serving as a federal magistrate when Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nelson complained about him during a hearing on a case in which Chen imposed an injunction on a Trump plan to take away protected status from many immigrants .
“ You can reverse Ed Chen from time to time , but to suggest from the bench that are you are going to reassign ” a case is “ off the reservation , ” one longtime 9th Circuit judge said .
“ Ed is an extremely well respected judge.
” “ When he is in a china shop , he doesn ’ t walk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Nelson , an Idaho lawyer who worked as general counsel for a wellness consumer goods company , did not respond to a request for comment .
Ninth Circuit Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw , a Clinton appointee , noted that most of the Trump appointees are still in transition , with the heat of the political process of Senate confirmation not far behind them .
She said she was optimistic the 9th Circuit would continue to be collegial .
Another judge predicted that even the hard-charging Collins , educated at Harvard and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think he will be fine , though he will never be a go-along-get-along guy , ” the judge said .
The behind-the-scenes tensions over Collins spilled into public last month in an order rejecting a call , presumably made by Collins , to reconsider a panel ’ s decision .
The panel had upheld a lower court ’ s ruling in favor of suppressing evidence from a tribal officer ’ s search of a vehicle on a public highway .
The highway ran through tribal land .
Collins , dissenting from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was joined by three judges , two Trump appointees and one appointed by President George W. Bush .
Collins called the panel ’ s decision “ deeply flawed , ” “ plagued ” by legal error and marked by “ confused analysis.
” Two Democratic appointees whose ruling Collins wanted reversed wrote that even in the genre of such dissents , Collins ’ was was an “ outlier.
” “ It misrepresents the legal context of this case and wildly exaggerates the purported consequences of the panel opinion , ” wrote Judge Marsha @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz , an Obama appointee .
“ This case involves an unusual factual scenario and a technical issue of Indian tribal authority , ” they said .
“ It certainly does not present a ‘ question of exceptional importance ’ meriting en banc consideration.
” The 9th Circuit court has been dominated by Democratic appointees for decades .
In 1978 , a federal law created 10 new judgeships on the court , allowing President Carter to fill them all .
The liberal Carter appointees were followed by judges named @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Clinton ’ s and Obama ’ s appointees were not uniformly liberal , however , and the 9th Circuit has been growing more moderate .
One study , examining the years 2010 to 2015 , found that the 9th Circuit was the third most reversed by the Supreme Court , following the Ohio-based 6th and Georgia-based 11th circuits .
Still , with Democratic nominees heavily outnumbering Republicans , there were usually enough votes to overturn conservative decisions by three-judge panels .
Smith predicted the full effect of the Trump appointees won ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they will be carrying full caseloads .
But even now Democratic appointees are likely to be more reluctant to ask for 11-judge panels to review conservative decisions because the larger en banc panels , chosen randomly , might be dominated by Republicans , judges said .
That happened in July after a panel of the three Republican appointees upheld a Trump ruling denying federal family planning funds to clinics that referred women for abortions .
A Democratic appointee called for en banc review , and a majority voted in favor .
But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Republican appointees , including two named by Trump .
The 9th Circuit is by far the largest in the federal appeals court in the nation , and its judges are scattered over nine states .
Some judges elect to work alone with their staffs in offices or courthouses near their homes .
Most 9th Circuit veterans have yet to have had any experience with the new appointees , and it could take years before they serve on a panel with each of them .
Trump appointed the successors to the late Judges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the most liberal circuit judges in the nation and filled other slots created by Republicans who opted to take senior status .
The new appointees include Patrick Bumatay , the openly gay former prosecutor , and Daniel A. Bress , a former partner at the Washington , D.C. , office of Kirkland & Ellis .
The ABA rated both qualified .
During a hearing in January on challenges to Trump ’ s immigration policies , Bress appeared ready to side with Trump .
The others are Kenneth Kiyul Lee , a partner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ & Block LLP , who received a well-qualified rating and VanDyke , a former solicitor general of Nevada and a federal deputy assistant attorney general .
In rating VanDyke unqualified for the job , the ABA wrote : “ Mr .
VanDyke is arrogant , lazy , an ideologue , and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice , including procedural rules.
” VanDyke cried during his confirmation hearing when attempting to rebut criticism that he might be unfair to the LGBTQ community .
Trump ’ s rapid transformation of the circuit courts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of active judges appointed by Democrats to Republican majorities — was accomplished with the support of Senate Republicans .
Nominations of appellate judges may no longer be blocked by filibuster , and Republican Senate leaders have declined under Trump to follow the practice of allowing an appointee ’ s home-state senators to veto the president ’ s choice .
“ Trump has set all records for the number of appellate appointees , ” said University of Richmond law Professor Carl Tobias .
The federal appeals courts are just one rung below the Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life .
Though some 9th Circuit veterans expressed unease at the inexperience of some of the new judges , 9th Circuit Judge Consuelo Callahan said they would grow into the job .
“ Both President Obama and President Trump appointed quite a few young people with really exceptional credentials , but not necessarily judicial experience , ” said Callahan , appointed by President George W. Bush .
Four of Obama ’ s seven appointees had been judges .
“ You have to learn to be a judge , ” Callahan said .

“Trump has effectively flipped the circuit,” said 9th Circuit Judge Milan D. Smith Jr., an appointee of President George W. Bush.
When President Trump ticks off his accomplishments since taking office, he frequently mentions his aggressive makeover of a key sector of the federal judiciary — the circuit courts of appeal, where he has appointed 51 judges to lifetime jobs in three years.
In few places has the effect been felt more powerfully than in the sprawling 9th Circuit, which covers California and eight other states. Because of Trump’s success in filling vacancies, the San Francisco-based circuit, long dominated by Democratic appointees, has suddenly shifted to the right, with an even more pronounced tilt expected in the years ahead.
Trump has now named 10 judges to the 9th Circuit — more than one-third of its active judges — compared with seven appointed by President Obama over eight years.
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“Trump has effectively flipped the circuit,” said 9th Circuit Judge Milan D. Smith Jr., an appointee of President George W. Bush.
To assess the early impact of these appointments, the Los Angeles Times interviewed several judges on the 9th Circuit. Some either declined to discuss their colleagues or inner deliberations or refused to be quoted by name, saying they were not authorized to speak about what went on behind the scenes.
To be sure, some of the new appointees to the 9th Circuit have quickly won the respect of their colleagues. But the rapid influx of so many judges — most without judicial experience — has put strains upon the court and stirred criticism among judges appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents.
“Ten new people at once sends a shock wave through the system,” a 9th Circuit judge said.
In three years, President Trump has appointed 10 justices to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. By comparison, President Obama appointed seven in eight years. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Among those who have caused the most consternation is Judge Daniel P. Collins, a former federal prosecutor and partner of a prestigious law firm.
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Some judges say that, in the early months of his tenure, Collins has appeared oblivious to court tradition. He has sent memos at all times of the night in violation of a court rule and objected to other judges’ rulings in language that some colleagues found combative, they said.
Collins also moved quickly to challenge rulings by his new colleagues, calling for review of five decisions by three-judge panels, and some of the calls came before Collins even had been assigned to his first panel, judges said.
Active judges vote on the calls behind the scenes, and the public becomes aware of a failed effort only when dissents are later filed by the judges who favored reconsideration. Judges said it was unprecedented for a new jurist to try to overturn so many decisions in such a short period of time. The court has so far rejected most of Collins’ calls.
“Collins has definitely bulldozed his way around here already in a short time,” one 9th Circuit judge said. “Either he doesn’t care or doesn’t realize that he has offended half the court already.”
Collins did not respond to a request for an interview.
Democratic appointees still make up the majority of active judges — 16 to 13. But the court also has judges on “senior status” who continue to sit on panels that decide cases. Senior-status rank gives judges more flexibility but allows them to continue to work, even full time.
Of the senior judges who will be deciding cases on “merits” panels — reading briefs and issuing rulings — 10 are Republicans and only three are Democratic appointees, Smith said.
“You will see a sea change in the 9th Circuit on day-to-day decisions,” Smith predicted.
The biggest change will come in controversial cases that test the constitutionality of laws and the legal ability of presidents to establish contentious new rules. The 9th Circuit is weighing challenges to Trump on a wide array of issues, from immigration to reproductive rights, and the rightward tilt is likely to make it easier for the president to prevail.
Only two of the 9th Circuit appointees have prior judicial experience — Bridget S. Bade and Danielle Hunsaker. They also are the only women among the court’s new judges. Three are Asian Americans — one an openly gay man who has two children with his husband. The other five are white men. Several went to the nation’s top universities.
The American Bar Assn. rated six of the 10, including Collins, “well qualified,” the group’s highest rating for circuit judge candidates. Three received the lower “qualified” rating, and one, Lawrence VanDyke, was found to be “not qualified.”
Though conservative, the Trump appointees to the 9th Circuit are not monolithic. Two Trump appointees — Bade, a former federal court magistrate, and Mark J. Bennett, a former attorney general of Hawaii — are regarded by their colleagues as experienced and collegial.
Trump appointee Eric D. Miller also has drawn positive reviews from both Democratic and Republican appointees. Before his appointment, Miller headed up the appellate division of a major law firm.
“I think he will be a good judge,” a 9th Circuit veteran said.
But Trump appointee Judge Ryan D. Nelson rattled other members of the court when he suggested during a hearing in August that the 9th Circuit remove a respected San Francisco district judge, Edward M. Chen, from a case. The 9th Circuit rarely takes cases away from district judges and only in extreme situations.
Chen, a former ACLU lawyer, was serving as a federal magistrate when Obama elevated him to the district court. Nelson complained about him during a hearing on a case in which Chen imposed an injunction on a Trump plan to take away protected status from many immigrants.
“You can reverse Ed Chen from time to time, but to suggest from the bench that are you are going to reassign” a case is “off the reservation,” one longtime 9th Circuit judge said. “Ed is an extremely well-respected judge.”
Another veteran called Nelson’s suggestion “beginner stuff.”
“When he is in a china shop, he doesn’t walk around with caution,” the judge said.
Nelson, an Idaho lawyer who worked as general counsel for a wellness consumer goods company, did not respond to a request for comment.
Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw of the 9th Circuit, a Clinton appointee, noted that most of the Trump appointees were still in transition, with the heat of the political process of Senate confirmation not far behind them. She said she was optimistic the 9th Circuit would continue to be collegial.
Another judge predicted that even the hard-charging Collins, educated at Harvard and Stanford, would “mellow.”
“I think he will be fine,” the judge said, “though he will never be a go-along-get-along guy.”
The behind-the-scenes tensions over Collins spilled into public last month in an order rejecting a call, presumably made by Collins, to reconsider a panel’s decision. The panel had upheld a lower court’s ruling in favor of suppressing evidence from a tribal officer’s search of a vehicle on a public highway. The highway ran through tribal land.
Collins, dissenting from the court’s refusal to reconsider, was joined by three judges, two Trump appointees and one appointed by President George W. Bush.
Collins called the panel’s decision “deeply flawed,” “plagued” by legal error and marked by “confused analysis.”
Two Democratic appointees whose ruling Collins wanted reversed wrote that, even in the genre of such dissents, Collins’ was an “outlier.”
“It misrepresents the legal context of this case and wildly exaggerates the purported consequences of the panel opinion,” wrote Judge Marsha S. Berzon, a Clinton appointee, and Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz, an Obama appointee.
“This case involves an unusual factual scenario and a technical issue of Indian tribal authority,” they said. “It certainly does not present a ‘question of exceptional importance’ meriting en banc consideration.”
The 9th Circuit court has been dominated by Democratic appointees for decades. In 1978, a federal law created 10 new judgeships on the court, allowing President Carter to fill them all. The liberal Carter appointees were followed by judges named by three Republican presidents and two Democrats.
Clinton’s and Obama’s appointees were not uniformly liberal, however, and the 9th Circuit has been growing more moderate. One study, examining the years 2010 to 2015, found that the 9th Circuit was the third most reversed by the Supreme Court, following the Ohio-based 6th and Georgia-based 11th circuits.
Still, with Democratic nominees heavily outnumbering Republicans, there were usually enough votes to overturn conservative decisions by three-judge panels.
Smith predicts the full effect of the Trump appointees won’t be seen until 2021, when they will be carrying full caseloads.
But even now, Democratic appointees are likely to be more reluctant to ask for 11-judge panels to review conservative decisions because the larger en banc panels, chosen randomly, might be dominated by Republicans, judges said.
That happened in July after a panel of three Republican appointees upheld a Trump ruling denying federal family planning funds to clinics that referred women for abortions. A Democratic appointee called for en banc review, and a majority voted in favor. But the randomly selected 11-member panel had a majority of Republican appointees, including two named by Trump.
The 9th Circuit is by far the largest in the federal appeals court in the nation, and its judges are scattered over nine states.
Some judges elect to work alone with their staffs in offices or courthouses near their homes. Most 9th Circuit veterans have yet to have had any experience with the new appointees, and it could take years before they serve on a panel with each of them.
Trump appointed the successors to the late Judges Stephen Reinhardt and Harry Pregerson, two of the most liberal circuit judges in the nation, and filled other slots created by Republicans who opted to take senior status.
The new appointees include Patrick Bumatay, the openly gay former prosecutor, and Daniel A. Bress, a former partner at the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis. The ABA rated both qualified. During a hearing in January on challenges to Trump’s immigration policies, Bress appeared ready to side with Trump.
The others are Kenneth Kiyul Lee, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Jenner & Block LLP, who received a well-qualified rating and VanDyke, a former solicitor general of Nevada and a federal deputy assistant attorney general.
In rating VanDyke unqualified for the job, the ABA wrote: “Mr. VanDyke is arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice, including procedural rules.” VanDyke cried during his confirmation hearing when attempting to rebut criticism that he might be unfair to the LGBTQ community.
Trump’s rapid transformation of the circuit courts — three others went from a majority of active judges appointed by Democrats to Republican majorities — was accomplished with the support of Senate Republicans.
Nominations of appellate judges may no longer be blocked by filibuster, and Republican Senate leaders have declined under Trump to follow the practice of allowing an appointee’s home-state senators to veto the president’s choice.
“Trump has set all records for the number of appellate appointees,” said University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias.
The federal appeals courts are just one rung below the Supreme Court, and federal judges serve for life.
Though some 9th Circuit veterans expressed unease at the inexperience of some of the new judges, 9th Circuit Judge Consuelo Callahan said they would grow into the job.
“Both President Obama and President Trump appointed quite a few young people with really exceptional credentials but not necessarily judicial experience,” said Callahan, appointed by President George W. Bush.
Four of Obama’s seven appointees had been judges.
“You have to learn to be a judge,” Callahan said.


latimes--2020-02-22--When homeless people tell their own stories, we should listen and not turn away

There ’ s a podcast I find myself listening to lately that isn ’ t produced in a studio .
It hasn ’ t been polished and smoothed like a rock tossed in a tumbler .
It contains stumbles and sometimes unexpected clattering .
But at its best , in its intimate stories from the streets and its insights from the experience of living on them , it cuts right through the background noise about homelessness .
Theo Henderson , 46 , calls a park in Chinatown home and records “ We the Unhoused ” on his cellphone every week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tries to survive on our streets .
His parents , his only real safety net , died when he was a young man .
And even though he graduated from college and used to teach elementary school , in a series of calamities starting with a diabetic coma during the recession , he lost his job and his housing and his economic stability .
He now sleeps outdoors , on concrete .
In recent months , he has been chronicling the travails of others who for a host of reasons once lived under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He is one of a number of people I know of who are homeless in our city who also document homelessness .
They ’ re in that world .
They know it in ways I do not .
When I come across them , I pay attention .
This week , our governor , Gavin Newsom , devoted his State of the State address to California ’ s crisis of homelessness .
He called it “ a disgrace ” that we ignored for too long .
“ We turned away when it wasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , our neighbor or our friend , ” he said , or when it was and no help was forthcoming .
Now there ’ s no turning away .
It ’ s everywhere you look .
And I think we have to look , closely and steadily .
Massive fixes are required — so much more housing , so many more support services .
The vast majority of that work will fall to our government , at all levels .
But as individuals , I feel it behooves us to educate ourselves in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the problem .
To figure out what useful actions we can take — whether alone or in groups , through donations or directly — when no official aid is at hand .
To determine what we should be demanding our elected officials do to produce the kind of help those in need say might actually work for them .
I ’ ve talked in the past about the benefits for all concerned of reaching out to people on the streets , asking them what immediate help they need , trying to provide it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives .
I know not everyone will feel comfortable doing this .
But there are other ways to go to the source .
“ We the Unhoused ” can get angry — at overzealous police and business improvement districts , at City Council members .
Henderson takes jabs at my colleague Steve Lopez , too , which I ’ ve told him I think is unfair .
He has had the word “ homeless ” spat at him too often , he says , to want to use it himself .
On his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raise money to keep going , he simultaneously offers advice to the unhoused and to the rest of us who might be far too quick to write them off .
In one episode , he focused on violence against people who are homeless .
He talked to Freddie , whose wife had died and who had then been evicted from the apartment building they ’ d managed ; Freddie was living with his two cats near his former home when someone threw an incendiary device at his tent .
He spoke to others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them in the middle of the night , who worried that strangers might hand them poisoned food or that they could be attacked at any moment by people who want them gone .
He reminded the rest of us , as he often does , of the fragility of life — that we could find ourselves suddenly unhoused , too , and that we should respond accordingly to our neighbors who already are .
He asked that we think twice about doing such things as calling police to request that encampments be removed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cleanups that set people who are homeless even further back when they lose crucial IDs and supplies .
He asked us to ask ourselves , “ What part do I play in perpetuating the hateful rhetoric or the uplifting rhetoric and the uplifting actions to help unhoused people find their best selves ?
” Do we play a role ?
Is it a role we can be proud of ?
These can be uncomfortable questions .
There ’ s a very creative guy I sometimes run into around town by the name of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he says , more or less by choice .
If someone gave him an apartment , he ’ d move right in , he told me — but he doesn ’ t want to make his life all about working to afford one .
Torres , who grew up poor in Crenshaw and quit school after seventh grade , has chosen to live his life as a wandering storyteller .
He ’ s made two feature-length films while living on sidewalks .
He brings in money by selling the DVDS ( $ 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ image in silhouette ( $ 50 ) and copies of photographs he takes as he pushes his cart around the city ( $ 10 ) .
Torres , 50 , is a voracious reader who has taught himself many things .
When a nearby coffee shop switched ownership and tossed out a beat-up , scratched-up mirror in a gilded frame , he began a series of striking self-portraits inspired , he told me , by Vivian Maier , the Chicago nanny whose extraordinary images were discovered only after her death .
Torres ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which he places in the scenes he shoots of people living in dire straits on the streets .
Sometimes I imagine that if my own face were reflected in those photos , they would serve as a not-so-subtle critique of my miniscule efforts to reach out to those around me in need .
I hand out socks and blankets and TAP cards and gift cards .
I bring people what they tell me they could use .
I try to make connections and show that I care .
But I know it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of such great need .
Lelund Nathaniel Hollins ’ photographs make me feel that need powerfully .
They cry out the lack of comfort , the loneliness , the isolation .
Hollins , who does not have a home and often sleeps on public transportation , photographs others who do the same and who stretch out on our sidewalks and bus benches .
He ’ s part of an ongoing workshop in the journalism department at Cal State Northridge , in which seniors studying photojournalism coach those who are homeless or have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so they can tell their own stories .
CSUN journalism professor David Blumenkrantz started the workshop , which is called “ How We See It.
” It ’ s turned out to be an even greater learning experience for the CSUN students , they told me , than it has for their protégés .
I met a lot of the group last month when the work was exhibited at the Museum of Social Justice in the heart of El Pueblo downtown .
They had all bonded and become close friends .
“ Being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who is housed and someone who has food every day and someone who has a family , it opens your eyes to the world , ” one of the CSUN crew , Shae Hammond , told those gathered in a short speech .
I met Tim Caffery , who at the time was living in Griffith Park .
( He ’ s since been rousted by rangers and is tucked in along a freeway . )
Bobby Buck , who used to be on skid row , told me he liked taking pictures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he used to be , as a way to bring them dignity and light in the darkness .
Hollins , 45 , said the photos he takes hurt even his own heart .
He talked about the ones of the people hunched over in their seats on the Metro , their scant worldly belongings encircling them .
( He rents a storage space and so can own more . )
“ The harshest is when you see somebody make that seat into their only home , ” he told me .
And I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think about one thing I particularly like about the podcast , “ We the Unhoused ” : the way Henderson closes nearly every episode .
“ Thank you for listening , ” he says .
“ And may we all again meet in the light of understanding .
”

Theo Henderson, creator of the “We the Unhoused” podcast, shares a balloon with his friend Genevieve Walan, 8, in the Chinatown park where he lives. Genevieve says, “He is my friend and he is funny.”
There’s a podcast I find myself listening to lately that isn’t produced in a studio. It hasn’t been polished and smoothed like a rock tossed in a tumbler. It contains stumbles and sometimes unexpected clattering.
But at its best, in its intimate stories from the streets and its insights from the experience of living on them, it cuts right through the background noise about homelessness.
Theo Henderson, 46, calls a park in Chinatown home and records “We the Unhoused” on his cellphone every week — no small feat as he also tries to survive on our streets. His parents, his only real safety net, died when he was a young man. And even though he graduated from college and used to teach elementary school, in a series of calamities starting with a diabetic coma during the recession, he lost his job and his housing and his economic stability. He now sleeps outdoors, on concrete.
In recent months, he has been chronicling the travails of others who for a host of reasons once lived under roofs but now don’t. He is one of a number of people I know of who are homeless in our city who also document homelessness. They’re in that world. They know it in ways I do not. When I come across them, I pay attention.
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This week, our governor, Gavin Newsom, devoted his State of the State address to California’s crisis of homelessness. He called it “a disgrace” that we ignored for too long. “We turned away when it wasn’t our sister, our brother, our neighbor or our friend,” he said, or when it was and no help was forthcoming.
Now there’s no turning away. It’s everywhere you look. And I think we have to look, closely and steadily.
Massive fixes are required — so much more housing, so many more support services. The vast majority of that work will fall to our government, at all levels.
But as individuals, I feel it behooves us to educate ourselves in order to understand the many layers of the problem. To figure out what useful actions we can take — whether alone or in groups, through donations or directly — when no official aid is at hand. To determine what we should be demanding our elected officials do to produce the kind of help those in need say might actually work for them.
I’ve talked in the past about the benefits for all concerned of reaching out to people on the streets, asking them what immediate help they need, trying to provide it, listening to them talk about their lives. I know not everyone will feel comfortable doing this. But there are other ways to go to the source.
“We the Unhoused” can get angry — at overzealous police and business improvement districts, at City Council members. Henderson takes jabs at my colleague Steve Lopez, too, which I’ve told him I think is unfair.
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He has had the word “homeless” spat at him too often, he says, to want to use it himself. On his podcast, which he is trying to raise money to keep going, he simultaneously offers advice to the unhoused and to the rest of us who might be far too quick to write them off.
In one episode, he focused on violence against people who are homeless. He talked to Freddie, whose wife had died and who had then been evicted from the apartment building they’d managed; Freddie was living with his two cats near his former home when someone threw an incendiary device at his tent. He spoke to others who described having ice cubes thrown at them in the middle of the night, who worried that strangers might hand them poisoned food or that they could be attacked at any moment by people who want them gone.
He reminded the rest of us, as he often does, of the fragility of life — that we could find ourselves suddenly unhoused, too, and that we should respond accordingly to our neighbors who already are.
He asked that we think twice about doing such things as calling police to request that encampments be removed and spoke about the unintended consequences of cleanups that set people who are homeless even further back when they lose crucial IDs and supplies.
He asked us to ask ourselves, “What part do I play in perpetuating the hateful rhetoric or the uplifting rhetoric and the uplifting actions to help unhoused people find their best selves?”
Do we play a role? Is it a role we can be proud of? These can be uncomfortable questions.
Bumdog Torres describes himself as homeless by choice. He takes photos and shoots film of his world — including many other people on the streets. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
There’s a very creative guy I sometimes run into around town by the name of Bumdog Torres. He is homeless, he says, more or less by choice. If someone gave him an apartment, he’d move right in, he told me — but he doesn’t want to make his life all about working to afford one. Torres, who grew up poor in Crenshaw and quit school after seventh grade, has chosen to live his life as a wandering storyteller. He’s made two feature-length films while living on sidewalks. He brings in money by selling the DVDS ($25), along with T-shirts of his image in silhouette ($50) and copies of photographs he takes as he pushes his cart around the city ($10).
Torres, 50, is a voracious reader who has taught himself many things. When a nearby coffee shop switched ownership and tossed out a beat-up, scratched-up mirror in a gilded frame, he began a series of striking self-portraits inspired, he told me, by Vivian Maier, the Chicago nanny whose extraordinary images were discovered only after her death.
Torres’ face often appears in the gilded mirror, which he places in the scenes he shoots of people living in dire straits on the streets. Sometimes I imagine that if my own face were reflected in those photos, they would serve as a not-so-subtle critique of my miniscule efforts to reach out to those around me in need. I hand out socks and blankets and TAP cards and gift cards. I bring people what they tell me they could use. I try to make connections and show that I care. But I know it’s so little in the face of such great need.
Lelund Nathaniel Hollins’ photographs make me feel that need powerfully. They cry out the lack of comfort, the loneliness, the isolation. Hollins, who does not have a home and often sleeps on public transportation, photographs others who do the same and who stretch out on our sidewalks and bus benches.
Photographer Lelund Nathaniel Hollins, who is homeless, stands next to his photo of a barefoot homeless person slumped over on a Metro seat. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
He’s part of an ongoing workshop in the journalism department at Cal State Northridge, in which seniors studying photojournalism coach those who are homeless or have been homeless, teaching them street photography skills so they can tell their own stories. CSUN journalism professor David Blumenkrantz started the workshop, which is called “How We See It.” It’s turned out to be an even greater learning experience for the CSUN students, they told me, than it has for their protégés. I met a lot of the group last month when the work was exhibited at the Museum of Social Justice in the heart of El Pueblo downtown. They had all bonded and become close friends.
“Being able to recognize my privilege as someone who is housed and someone who has food every day and someone who has a family, it opens your eyes to the world,” one of the CSUN crew, Shae Hammond, told those gathered in a short speech.
I met Tim Caffery, who at the time was living in Griffith Park. (He’s since been rousted by rangers and is tucked in along a freeway.) Bobby Buck, who used to be on skid row, told me he liked taking pictures of people who are homeless, as he used to be, as a way to bring them dignity and light in the darkness.
Hollins, 45, said the photos he takes hurt even his own heart. He talked about the ones of the people hunched over in their seats on the Metro, their scant worldly belongings encircling them. (He rents a storage space and so can own more.)
“The harshest is when you see somebody make that seat into their only home,” he told me. And I had to agree.
Which made me think about one thing I particularly like about the podcast, “We the Unhoused”: the way Henderson closes nearly every episode.
“Thank you for listening,” he says. “And may we all again meet in the light of understanding.”


latimes--2020-02-22--A look at Proposition 13, the $15-billion school bond on the March 3 ballot

California voters will see only one statewide proposition on the March 3 primary ballot , a proposal to borrow money for the state ’ s schools .
And in an election season dominated by a fiercely contested Democratic presidential race , this single ballot measure has received little attention .
But Proposition 13 has major implications for school campuses across the state , its supporters say .
And while a slim majority of voters in several polls have said they support the proposal , that may largely be due to a tendency to say yes : Only once in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bond been defeated .
This year ’ s proposal , though , would help more than just those schools .
And it asks voters to approve more than just borrowing money .
The main focus of Proposition 13 is simple : It proposes the sale of $ 15 billion in general obligation bonds to finance construction projects for K-12 schools , community colleges and state universities .
It ’ s important to note that , like any loan , the $ 15 billion must be paid back over time with interest .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Proposition 13 will cost taxpayers an additional $ 11 billion in interest payments by the time all is said and done .
That makes it a $ 26-billion proposal , paid in annual installments of about $ 740 million for 35 years .
The largest slice of Proposition 13 bond funds — $ 5.2 billion — would be earmarked for renovating existing , older buildings at primary and secondary schools across California .
An additional $ 2.8 billion would be reserved for new school construction .
Facility needs at career technical education sites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 billion more in bond funds .
Another $ 6 billion will be evenly split among the University of California , California State University and community college systems .
The language of Proposition 13 prioritizes spending on seismic upgrades on college campuses as well as the removal of hazardous materials such as mold and asbestos .
The ballot measure gives preference in some of the K-12 bond money to smaller schools .
It also includes the testing and treating of lead found in school water supplies as the kind of project eligible for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 13 sets a cap of $ 750 million in bond funds that can be spent on administrative costs .
New rules on who gets money , a boost for union projects Proposition 13 offers additional state help to local schools that have less ability to raise matching bonds for construction projects , and for those serving more English learners , foster youth and students from low-income families .
In these cases , the state could cover as much as 55 % of the costs of new buildings and 65 % of renovation efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ first come , first served ” rules about doling out school bond dollars .
Projects impacting the health and safety of students would have the highest priority , followed by those from projects with limited local options .
A provision tucked inside the legislation that put Proposition 13 on the ballot also boosts organized labor , a powerful constituency for Democrats in the California Legislature .
Projects meeting the above hardships will be given additional preference for bond funds if they include a “ project labor agreement , ” a promise to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ union .
One unique provision of this election ’ s Proposition 13 has caused some confusion — perhaps , in part , by what some voters remember about the other Proposition 13 , the iconic 1978 ballot measure that limits property taxes .
School construction projects are financed through a combination of state and local bond measures .
For local school bonds , the total amount of borrowing is limited by the assessed value of all property within a school district .
Elementary and high school districts can borrow only an amount equal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while larger unified school districts and community college districts can sell bonds only in a value equal to 4 % of their community ’ s property values .
None of this affects the way property values are established or the actual taxes imposed — the key components of the 1978 tax initiative .
The school bond on the March 3 ballot seeks to loosen these limits on local school borrowing .
It would allow elementary and high school districts to borrow up to 2 % of the assessed value of nearby properties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ colleges permission to sell local bonds equal to 4 % of local property values .
It ’ s easy to see how this would be confusing .
After all , the 1978 tax-limiting initiative involves strict rules about how property values are set and the general tax levy that can be imposed .
The new school bond doesn ’ t change any of that , but it does use those property values in its effort to allow schools to issue more local bonds .
And , of course , those bonds have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It may not be a tax , by the strictest of definitions , but it ’ s still money owed to fund government services .

California voters will see only one statewide proposition on the March 3 primary ballot, a proposal to borrow money for the state’s schools. And in an election season dominated by a fiercely contested Democratic presidential race, this single ballot measure has received little attention.
But Proposition 13 has major implications for school campuses across the state, its supporters say. And while a slim majority of voters in several polls have said they support the proposal, that may largely be due to a tendency to say yes: Only once in the past quarter-century has a statewide K-12 education bond been defeated.
This year’s proposal, though, would help more than just those schools. And it asks voters to approve more than just borrowing money.
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$15 billion in borrowing for school construction
The main focus of Proposition 13 is simple: It proposes the sale of $15 billion in general obligation bonds to finance construction projects for K-12 schools, community colleges and state universities.
It’s important to note that, like any loan, the $15 billion must be paid back over time with interest. The independent Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates Proposition 13 will cost taxpayers an additional $11 billion in interest payments by the time all is said and done. That makes it a $26-billion proposal, paid in annual installments of about $740 million for 35 years.
The largest slice of Proposition 13 bond funds — $5.2 billion — would be earmarked for renovating existing, older buildings at primary and secondary schools across California. An additional $2.8 billion would be reserved for new school construction. Facility needs at career technical education sites and charter schools would evenly split $1 billion more in bond funds.
Another $6 billion will be evenly split among the University of California, California State University and community college systems. The language of Proposition 13 prioritizes spending on seismic upgrades on college campuses as well as the removal of hazardous materials such as mold and asbestos.
The ballot measure gives preference in some of the K-12 bond money to smaller schools. It also includes the testing and treating of lead found in school water supplies as the kind of project eligible for financial assistance. And overall, Proposition 13 sets a cap of $750 million in bond funds that can be spent on administrative costs.
New rules on who gets money, a boost for union projects
Proposition 13 offers additional state help to local schools that have less ability to raise matching bonds for construction projects, and for those serving more English learners, foster youth and students from low-income families. In these cases, the state could cover as much as 55% of the costs of new buildings and 65% of renovation efforts.
The ballot measure also changes traditional “first come, first served” rules about doling out school bond dollars. Projects impacting the health and safety of students would have the highest priority, followed by those from projects with limited local options.
A provision tucked inside the legislation that put Proposition 13 on the ballot also boosts organized labor, a powerful constituency for Democrats in the California Legislature. Projects meeting the above hardships will be given additional preference for bond funds if they include a “project labor agreement,” a promise to use construction workers who belong to a union.
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New rules for local school borrowing
One unique provision of this election’s Proposition 13 has caused some confusion — perhaps, in part, by what some voters remember about the other Proposition 13, the iconic 1978 ballot measure that limits property taxes.
School construction projects are financed through a combination of state and local bond measures. For local school bonds, the total amount of borrowing is limited by the assessed value of all property within a school district. Elementary and high school districts can borrow only an amount equal to 1.25% of local property values, while larger unified school districts and community college districts can sell bonds only in a value equal to 2% of their community’s property values. None of this affects the way property values are established or the actual taxes imposed — the key components of the 1978 tax initiative.
The school bond on the March 3 ballot seeks to loosen these limits on local school borrowing. It would allow elementary and high school districts to borrow up to 2% of the assessed value of nearby properties while giving unified school districts and community colleges permission to sell local bonds equal to 4% of local property values.
It’s easy to see how this would be confusing. After all, the 1978 tax-limiting initiative involves strict rules about how property values are set and the general tax levy that can be imposed. The new school bond doesn’t change any of that, but it does use those property values in its effort to allow schools to issue more local bonds.
And, of course, those bonds have to be paid back by local residents. It may not be a tax, by the strictest of definitions, but it’s still money owed to fund government services.


latimes--2020-02-22--Column: You'll need a shower after reading about this school board race that's descended into the gu

Column: You'll need a shower after reading about this school board race that's descended into the gutter

There she was , sitting right in front of me .
Evil in the flesh , or so you ’ d believe from the fliers now landing in mailboxes across a wide swath of Los Angeles .
She stands accused of discriminating against Latino families , putting children in the line of fire because she ’ s sold out to the NRA , and being responsible for L.A. Unified ’ s horrible Miramonte Elementary School molestation scandal .
Who is this wretched , reprehensible person ?
Jackie Goldberg is her name , and she is the school board member representing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ School District .
When I visited her last week , she sifted through a pile of political mailers , retrieved from her own mailbox in Echo Park , in which all her alleged crimes against humanity were laid out against her .
“ As a person who ’ s been in public office a long time , I ’ ve received death threats and other sorts of terrible things in the mail , so it doesn ’ t kill me , ” said Goldberg .
Maybe not , but as she looked at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaching a full boil .
One by one , she explained how each allegation was a gross distortion , or a half-truth taken out of context for the sole purpose of running her out of office in the March 3 school board election .
Some of the allegations concern times when “ I wasn ’ t even on the board , ” she said .
In answer to a charge that she cut funding for schools , she said she “ pulled my hair out ” trying to reduce deeper cuts during a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has “ a permanent F rating with the NRA because I banned Saturday night specials when I was on the City Council.
” So here we are again .
Another election , another descent into the gutter .
Attack ads are nothing new , of course .
In election season , you should always use gloves when retrieving your mail , then toss political mailers into a sturdy metal can and immediately set fire to them .
You ’ ll feel better and be less misinformed .
I find this kind of manure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when adults should be setting a better example for the kids .
But this is LAUSD , where opposing forces are battling for control of the nation ’ s second-largest school district .
On one side you ’ ll find United Teachers Los Angeles and those who believe traditional public schools are being drained of students and resources by the growth of charters .
On the other side you ’ ll find those who think major reforms , including more charter schools , are the way to go .
I ’ m not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today .
In fact , it ’ s fine with me if you like or dislike charters , and it ’ s fine with me if you like or dislike a certain candidate .
But it would be nice to get through one school board election without vile , smarmy personal attacks , distortions and outright lies .
In 2014 , pro-charter forces went after board member Bennett Kayser , a union ally .
The attack included a photo of Latino kids sitting on a curb and looking as if someone had just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a racist in one of the most tawdry , duplicitous political attacks I ’ ve seen , lost his reelection bid .
Now that same photo has been dragged out again , this time in a mailer attacking Goldberg .
Another mailer declares : It ’ s so base and crude , it strikes me as an insult to Latinos .
It presumes they aren ’ t astute enough to know better , or to do a little research and see how preposterous the claims are about an elected official who has spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ side of the political spectrum , railing against inequalities .
So who ’ s got it in for Goldberg ?
The guy who ’ s been firing all that artillery into mailboxes in neighborhoods in and around downtown Los Angeles and southeast L.A. County is retired Manhattan Beach businessman Bill Bloomfield .
As reported by my colleague Howard Blume , Bloomfield has spent more than $ 1 million to take down Goldberg and support her opponent , Christina Martinez Duran , a semi-retired education consultant who has served as both a teacher and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times as much in the race as the union and Goldberg have spent on her campaign .
Bloomfield has spent an additional $ 800,000 in LAUSD ’ s District 7 contest , supporting two candidates for an open seat in the South L.A.-Harbor area , and attacking a third candidate .
In 2017 , he donated more than $ 2.5 million in support of the California Charter Schools Assn .
's political action committee .
“ I ’ m in it for the kids , that ’ s it , ” Bloomfield said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charter school and wished there were more schools like it in the district .
Goldberg doesn ’ t deny there are some very good charter schools , but she believes they leave traditional schools with the most challenging students and fewer resources to serve them .
Some people disagree with that version of reality , but does it mean Goldberg should be vilified for something in which she believes passionately ?
“ It was never my intent to do a character assassination .
It was just to lay out the facts , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by everything in the mailers .
And I stand by my claim that he cherry-picked her long record as a legislator , City Council member and school board member to paint a picture that fundamentally misrepresents the essence of who Goldberg is .
The truth , Bloomfield argued , is that he ’ s been the victim of misrepresentations coming from “ the other side ” following his attacks on Goldberg .
“ I never gave a dime to the Koch brothers , nor did I give the Republican Party any money last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I do not favor cuts to education , I do not favor cuts to teachers ’ healthcare , and I do not want to privatize schools.
” What he does want is for Duran to beat Goldberg in March , but there ’ s something worth noting about that .
Bloomfield has not met Duran , the candidate he has spent $ 1 million to support .
Then how does he know she ’ s got what it takes ?
“ Because someone whom I highly respect and is an expert in education @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that person highly recommended her.
” I ’ m going to have to give Bloomfield a D-minus on that effort , and I ’ m being generous .
And by the way , if Duran is the answer , why not spend more money building her up and less money shooting down Goldberg for things that have zero to do with real , day-to-day issues of running a school district .
Maybe they do , maybe they don ’ t , but either way , no one has to stoop to that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He said that when charter-friendly Marshall Tuck ran for state superintendent of schools in 2018 , he was smeared by union-friendly supporters of the victorious Tony Thurmond .
Bloomfield ripped The Times for not criticizing negative campaigning in that race , and maybe his gripe is fair .
The union side can play dirty , too , and in recent years has pilloried charter supporters as tools of President Trump .
Bloomfield insists he is no fan of Trump .
“ I was emotional after what happened to Marshall because I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much better off if he won , ” Bloomfield said .
In clarifying his position on charters , Bloomfield said this to my colleague Blume : “ I do think charters play a role in communities where the traditional public schools continue to fail our children , but I would absolutely prefer for the district public schools to do better and thus eliminate the need for charters.
” I understand the sentiment , but as I ’ ve said before , I don ’ t think our public schools are failing our children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the so-called reform movement think it ’ s as simple as that .
The story of what happened to California ’ s public schools is that they became less of a priority for many in the state when the student body went from majority white to majority nonwhite , and Proposition 13 shredded funding for school systems that have never recovered .
There ’ s plenty of room for improvement , sure , but 80 % of LAUSD ’ s roughly 550,000 students live in poverty , and California ’ s national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below what it was when I attended public schools in the state .
It ’ s not easy to reverse massive socioeconomic disparities in a district that has seen draconian cuts , with falling-apart buildings and the gradual stripping of support staff .
If Bloomfield wants to make a difference , Goldberg said , he ’ d be better off spending his money on the new Proposition 13 , a bond measure that would raise $ 15 billion for upgrades and new construction in K-College schools .
“ I just wrote a check @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That ’ s a start , and a better way to make a difference , in my opinion , than paying for those rubbish mailers .

There she was, sitting right in front of me.
Evil in the flesh, or so you’d believe from the fliers now landing in mailboxes across a wide swath of Los Angeles.
She stands accused of discriminating against Latino families, putting children in the line of fire because she’s sold out to the NRA, and being responsible for L.A. Unified’s horrible Miramonte Elementary School molestation scandal.
Who is this wretched, reprehensible person?
Jackie Goldberg is her name, and she is the school board member representing District 5 of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
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When I visited her last week, she sifted through a pile of political mailers, retrieved from her own mailbox in Echo Park, in which all her alleged crimes against humanity were laid out against her.
“As a person who’s been in public office a long time, I’ve received death threats and other sorts of terrible things in the mail, so it doesn’t kill me,” said Goldberg.
Maybe not, but as she looked at the mailers, she slowly simmered before reaching a full boil. One by one, she explained how each allegation was a gross distortion, or a half-truth taken out of context for the sole purpose of running her out of office in the March 3 school board election.
Some of the allegations concern times when “I wasn’t even on the board,” she said.
In answer to a charge that she cut funding for schools, she said she “pulled my hair out” trying to reduce deeper cuts during a financial crisis, and she said she has “a permanent F rating with the NRA because I banned Saturday night specials when I was on the City Council.”
So here we are again. Another election, another descent into the gutter.
Advertisement
Attack ads are nothing new, of course. In election season, you should always use gloves when retrieving your mail, then toss political mailers into a sturdy metal can and immediately set fire to them. You’ll feel better and be less misinformed.
I find this kind of manure particularly odious in school board elections, when adults should be setting a better example for the kids. But this is LAUSD, where opposing forces are battling for control of the nation’s second-largest school district.
On one side you’ll find United Teachers Los Angeles and those who believe traditional public schools are being drained of students and resources by the growth of charters. On the other side you’ll find those who think major reforms, including more charter schools, are the way to go.
I’m not going to wade back into that battle today. In fact, it’s fine with me if you like or dislike charters, and it’s fine with me if you like or dislike a certain candidate.
But it would be nice to get through one school board election without vile, smarmy personal attacks, distortions and outright lies.
In 2014, pro-charter forces went after board member Bennett Kayser, a union ally. The attack included a photo of Latino kids sitting on a curb and looking as if someone had just stolen their lunch. Kayser, branded a racist in one of the most tawdry, duplicitous political attacks I’ve seen, lost his reelection bid.
Now that same photo has been dragged out again, this time in a mailer attacking Goldberg. Another mailer declares:
“Jackie Goldberg doesn’t believe Latino families value education.”
It’s so base and crude, it strikes me as an insult to Latinos. It presumes they aren’t astute enough to know better, or to do a little research and see how preposterous the claims are about an elected official who has spent her whole career standing on the left side of the political spectrum, railing against inequalities.
So who’s got it in for Goldberg?
The guy who’s been firing all that artillery into mailboxes in neighborhoods in and around downtown Los Angeles and southeast L.A. County is retired Manhattan Beach businessman Bill Bloomfield.
As reported by my colleague Howard Blume, Bloomfield has spent more than $1 million to take down Goldberg and support her opponent, Christina Martinez Duran, a semi-retired education consultant who has served as both a teacher and an administrator. Bloomfield has spent four times as much in the race as the union and Goldberg have spent on her campaign.
Bloomfield has spent an additional $800,000 in LAUSD’s District 7 contest, supporting two candidates for an open seat in the South L.A.-Harbor area, and attacking a third candidate. In 2017, he donated more than $2.5 million in support of the California Charter Schools Assn.’s political action committee.
“I’m in it for the kids, that’s it,” Bloomfield said, telling me he once toured a charter school and wished there were more schools like it in the district.
Goldberg doesn’t deny there are some very good charter schools, but she believes they leave traditional schools with the most challenging students and fewer resources to serve them. Some people disagree with that version of reality, but does it mean Goldberg should be vilified for something in which she believes passionately?
“It was never my intent to do a character assassination. It was just to lay out the facts,” Bloomfield told me, saying he stands by everything in the mailers.
And I stand by my claim that he cherry-picked her long record as a legislator, City Council member and school board member to paint a picture that fundamentally misrepresents the essence of who Goldberg is.
The truth, Bloomfield argued, is that he’s been the victim of misrepresentations coming from “the other side” following his attacks on Goldberg.
“I never gave a dime to the Koch brothers, nor did I give the Republican Party any money last year,” he said. “I do not favor cuts to education, I do not favor cuts to teachers’ healthcare, and I do not want to privatize schools.”
What he does want is for Duran to beat Goldberg in March, but there’s something worth noting about that.
Bloomfield has not met Duran, the candidate he has spent $1 million to support.
Then how does he know she’s got what it takes?
“Because someone whom I highly respect and is an expert in education has,” Bloomfield said, “and that person highly recommended her.”
I’m going to have to give Bloomfield a D-minus on that effort, and I’m being generous. And by the way, if Duran is the answer, why not spend more money building her up and less money shooting down Goldberg for things that have zero to do with real, day-to-day issues of running a school district?
“The saddest thing,” Bloomfield said, “is that comparative mailers work.”
Maybe they do, maybe they don’t, but either way, no one has to stoop to that level.
Bloomfield made a what-goes-around-comes-around argument. He said that when charter-friendly Marshall Tuck ran for state superintendent of schools in 2018, he was smeared by union-friendly supporters of the victorious Tony Thurmond. Bloomfield ripped The Times for not criticizing negative campaigning in that race, and maybe his gripe is fair. The union side can play dirty, too, and in recent years has pilloried charter supporters as tools of President Trump. Bloomfield insists he is no fan of Trump.
“I was emotional after what happened to Marshall because I think kids in this state would have been much better off if he won,” he said.
In clarifying his position on charters, Bloomfield said this to my colleague Blume:
“I do think charters play a role in communities where the traditional public schools continue to fail our children, but I would absolutely prefer for the district public schools to do better and thus eliminate the need for charters.”
I understand the sentiment, but as I’ve said before, I don’t think our public schools are failing our children, no matter how many well-intended millionaires in the so-called reform movement think it’s as simple as that.
The story of what happened to California’s public schools is that they became less of a priority for many in the state when the student body went from majority white to majority nonwhite, and Proposition 13 shredded funding for school systems that have never recovered.
There’s plenty of room for improvement, sure, but 80% of LAUSD’s roughly 550,000 students live in poverty, and California’s national rank in spending per pupil is well below what it was when I attended public schools in the state. It’s not easy to reverse massive socioeconomic disparities in a district that has seen draconian cuts, with falling-apart buildings and the gradual stripping of support staff.
If Bloomfield wants to make a difference, Goldberg said, he’d be better off spending his money on the new Proposition 13, a bond measure that would raise $15 billion for upgrades and new construction in K-College schools.
“I just wrote a check for $100,000,” Bloomfield said.
That’s a start, and a better way to make a difference, in my opinion, than paying for those rubbish mailers.
steve.lopez@latimes.com


latimes--2020-02-21--Author who sparked 'American Dirt' controversy is escorted away from Long Beach teaching job

Myriam Gurba , the novelist and Long Beach high school teacher who sparked a row in U.S. publishing over the bestselling novel “ American Dirt , ” has been placed on administrative leave and was escorted from her school on Friday .
Gurba broke word of her removal from Long Beach Polytechnic High School via Twitter , a platform she ’ s used to intensifying effect since last month after disclosing that a magazine rejected her scathingly negative review of Jeanine Cummins ’ “ American Dirt.
” Gurba and other readers have derided the thriller-romance story set in Mexico for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depictions of Mexican life .
But in recent days , Gurba has turned her attention to brewing allegations of abuse or battery on the part of another Long Beach Poly teacher , Libby Huff .
She also has raised unconfirmed allegations against a separate teacher at another school .
Gurba said earlier this week that her school administration had begun ostracizing her for speaking out in support of the students who alleged abuse at the hands of Huff .
That teacher is on leave from the district ; Long Beach police are also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter , Gurba railed this week against the district , her school and Huff .
A counselor at Long Beach Poly walked into Gurba ’ s classroom Friday to tell her she had to leave school grounds .
“ They said that my social media was disruptive to the school , ” Gurba said in an interview .
The teacher and author of the novel “ Mean ” said she was placed on administrative leave without being given any more explanation .
A district official confirmed the decision .
“ Our school district @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on paid administrative leave today , ” said Chris Eftychiou , spokesperson for the Long Beach Unified School District , in an emailed response to questions .
“ The school district is not at liberty to provide further details because of confidentiality rules affecting personnel matters.
” In a Twitter post , Gurba criticized the school and her district for not “ protecting ” her and students .
“ Women and children [ are ] treated as problems by LBUSD , ” Gurba .
She also : “ I would rather have my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she is a teacher of AP psychology .
On Friday afternoon she told The Times she was in touch with a lawyer but not clear on what action she would take , if any .
She added that she has contacted her union about a response to the district ’ s actions .
During the controversy over “ American Dirt , ” under growing pressure from Gurba and other critics , Cummins and her publisher , Macmillan Books , apologized for the novel ’ s publicity rollout and canceled a planned promotional tour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simmering and often emotional discussion about cultural appropriation and the mechanics of a books industry that many claim sidelines or erases U.S. Latino voices .
“ American Dirt , ” meanwhile , has continued to sell well .
It currently sits at third place on the Amazon bestseller list .

Myriam Gurba speaks at a panel hosted by #DignidadLiteraria on “American Dirt” and Latinx visibility, held at Antioch University on Thursday, Feb. 6.
Myriam Gurba, the novelist and Long Beach high school teacher who sparked a row in U.S. publishing over the bestselling novel “American Dirt,” has been placed on administrative leave and was escorted from her school Friday.
Gurba broke word of her removal from Long Beach Polytechnic High School via Twitter, a platform she’s used to intensifying effect since disclosing last month that a magazine rejected her scathingly negative review of Jeanine Cummins’ “American Dirt.” Gurba and other readers have derided the thriller-romance story set in Mexico for what they have deemed stereotypical or harmful depictions of Mexican life.
But in recent days, Gurba has turned her attention to brewing allegations of abuse or battery on the part of another Long Beach Poly teacher, Libby Huff. She also has raised unconfirmed allegations against a separate teacher at another school.
Gurba said earlier this week that her school administration had begun ostracizing her for speaking out in support of the students who alleged abuse at the hands of Huff. That teacher is on leave from the district; Long Beach police are also investigating the allegations against her.
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On Twitter, Gurba railed this week against the district, her school and Huff.
A counselor at Long Beach Poly walked into Gurba’s classroom Friday to tell her she had to leave school grounds. “They said that my social media was disruptive to the school,” Gurba said in an interview.
The teacher and author of the memoir “Mean” said she was placed on administrative leave without being given any further explanation. A district official confirmed the decision.
“Our school district placed Poly High School teacher Myriam Gurba on paid administrative leave today,” Chris Eftychiou, spokesman for the Long Beach Unified School District, said in an emailed response to questions. “The school district is not at liberty to provide further details because of confidentiality rules affecting personnel matters.”
In a Twitter post, Gurba criticized the school and her district for not “protecting” her and students. “Women and children [are] treated as problems by LBUSD,” Gurba wrote. She also tweeted, “I would rather have my dignity than a job.”
Gurba said she is a teacher of AP psychology. On Friday afternoon she told The Times she was in touch with a lawyer but not clear on what action she would take, if any. She added that she has contacted her union about a response to the district’s actions.
Swear to god as I was sitting on the curb after getting quasi-FIRED one of my former students shows up w a BEST TEACHER EVER plaque and some snacks. I'm holding a Socratic sidewalk seminar. pic.twitter.com/z02DLEDC6H — Myriam Chingona Gurba de Serrano (@lesbrains) February 21, 2020
During the controversy over “American Dirt,” under growing pressure from Gurba and other critics, Cummins and her publisher, Macmillan Books, apologized for the novel’s publicity rollout and canceled a planned promotional tour. The debate also led to a simmering and often emotional discussion about cultural appropriation and the mechanics of a books industry that many claim sidelines or erases U.S. Latino voices.
“American Dirt,” meanwhile, has continued to sell well. It currently sits at third place on the Amazon bestseller list.
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Times staff writer Dorany Pineda contributed to this report.