latimes--2020-10-13--L.A.'s new firefighting robot is the first of its kind in the U.S. — and can go where humans can't

With its bright-yellow armored body , grippy tank-like treads , plow nose and water cannon , the Los Angeles Fire Department ’ s latest piece of equipment looks more like a Star Wars sidekick than a firefighting assistant .
But this mini robot tanker is an inferno buster that packs a powerful punch of water or foam and can go where firefighters otherwise can ’ t .
The LAFD on Tuesday became the first fire department in the nation to acquire the Robotics Systems 3 , a droid on steroids .
LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said firefighters put their lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This year , 11 LAFD crew members were severely injured when a fireball engulfed four downtown buildings after a massive explosion that was ignited by hazardous materials .
Now , firefighters can use RS3 as a safer alternative in battling potentially explosive blazes and it allows the department to get inside a burning building when humans could not dare enter safely .
“ I can afford to lose one of these wonderful machines , I can not afford to lose a firefighter , ” Terrazas said , admiring the control pad that remotely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morning , as flames engulfed a pair of industrial textile buildings in downtown L.A. , firefighters did not enter alone .
RS3 rode shotgun for the first time , Terrazas said .
As more than 130 firefighters battled the blaze , the droid got its first run maneuvering inside a fire so dangerous that department officials pulled crews from within .
Terrazas said it used it plow front end to push its way into the burning structure .
The robotic vehicle the size of a Smart car can turn on a dime and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In fires like the one Tuesday , the danger of collapse is such that firefighters have to pull back and go what they call defensive , spraying water from outside , Terrazas said .
That is often effective to a point .
But the RS3 is a “ game-changer , ” Terrazas said .
“ We can fight the fire from inside.
” It can blast of 2,500 gallons of water or foam per minute — enough power to knock someone off their feet .
Admiring the spray during a demonstration Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Terrazas said it can knock out walls and roofs .
“ You can turn the water cannon vertical and turn it into its own sprinkler system , ” he said .
“ It may make us rethink some of the ways we tackle fires when it ’ s available.
” It had its own RoboCop moment at Tuesday ’ s morning fire when it wheeled off the back of the trailer and headed past firefighters up to the blaze .
LAFD Capt .
Erik Scott said firefighters who have seen everything over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off it .
The RS3 had been diverted from its trip to a planned demonstration at the LAFD training facility near Dodger Stadium .
During a demonstration Tuesday , it unleashed thousands of gallons of water , pushed a Chevy Celebrity like a USC lineman with its plow and sped over an assault course of railroad ties with its grippy treads .
While designed for more urban uses , it is capable of ascending a 70-degree slope .
A firefighter can operate the robot remotely or can be tethered to it .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for up to 10 hours .
And its 5,000-pound winch can tow up to 1,750 pounds .
The technology behind the department ’ s latest firefighting tool has been used in Iraq , Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe .
Oil companies already enlist such flame terminators .
The chassis is patterned after U.S. Army robots — used to destroy improvised explosive devices — built by the same company , Howe and Howe Technologies , the brains behind the Ripsaw super tank .
The chassis , designed to help disarm IEDs , has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was found to be one of the most durable built .
It joins a fleet of other robots on the city roster , including the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad ‘ s BatCat — a 39,000-pound remote-control vehicle that looks like a forklift truck on steroids and has a massive telescopic arm .
Like the BatCat , the RS3 can be the eyes and ears for its human counterparts in a potentially explosive situation .
With multiple high-definition video cameras as well as an infrared camera , it can help locate people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the RS3 can literally wheel right up to the heart of the fire .
The RS3 is also assigned to Fire Station 3 , one of Los Angeles ’ busiest , as part of the Urban Search and Rescue team .
L.A. City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez , the daughter of a firefighter who joined the department in the 1970s , said that she is amazed at the advances in safety since her father ’ s days fighting fires and that the machine makes the lives of firefighters so much safer .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forefront of innovations , ” she said , speaking alongside Terrazas .
Rodriguez noted it was not public funds but fundraising by the nonprofit LAFD Foundation that made the acquisition possible .
The money , she said , is much needed , “ particularly when our budget has been so slammed by COVID-19.
” The foundation raised $ 272,000 to purchase the first-of-its-kind robot , according to Terrazas .
The LAFD added a plow and a bunch of extra bells and whistles .
The major donors that funded the RS3 include the foundation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Whether more robots will be added to LAFD ranks remains to be decided .
Terrazas said this one can reach much of the city in a short period but given the size of Los Angeles , it does make some sense to consider staging others in locations across the metropolis .
But , he said , a lot of that depends on how things go with the new firefighting machine .

Capt. Jason Ortiz operates the Los Angeles Fire Department’s new Thermite RS3 Robotic Firefighting Vehicle at the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 13, 2020.
With its bright-yellow armored body, grippy tank-like treads, plow nose and water cannon, the Los Angeles Fire Department’s latest piece of equipment looks more like a Star Wars sidekick than a firefighting assistant.
But this mini robot tanker is an inferno buster that packs a powerful punch of water or foam and can go where firefighters otherwise can’t. The LAFD on Tuesday became the first fire department in the nation to acquire the Robotics Systems 3, a droid on steroids.
LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said firefighters put their lives on the line when battling blazes. This year, 11 LAFD crew members were severely injured when a fireball engulfed four downtown buildings after a massive explosion that was ignited by hazardous materials.
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Now, firefighters can use RS3 as a safer alternative in battling potentially explosive blazes and it allows the department to get inside a burning building when humans could not dare enter safely.
“I can afford to lose one of these wonderful machines, I cannot afford to lose a firefighter,” Terrazas said, admiring the control pad that remotely operates the firefighting drone.
On Tuesday morning, as flames engulfed a pair of industrial textile buildings in downtown L.A., firefighters did not enter alone. RS3 rode shotgun for the first time, Terrazas said.
As more than 130 firefighters battled the blaze, the droid got its first run maneuvering inside a fire so dangerous that department officials pulled crews from within. Terrazas said it used it plow front end to push its way into the burning structure. The robotic vehicle the size of a Smart car can turn on a dime and fit through a set of double doors.
In fires like the one Tuesday, the danger of collapse is such that firefighters have to pull back and go what they call defensive, spraying water from outside, Terrazas said. That is often effective to a point.
But the RS3 is a “game-changer,” Terrazas said. “We can fight the fire from inside.”
It can blast of 2,500 gallons of water or foam per minute — enough power to knock someone off their feet. Admiring the spray during a demonstration Tuesday next to the LAFD training facility, Terrazas said it can knock out walls and roofs.
“You can turn the water cannon vertical and turn it into its own sprinkler system,” he said. “It may make us rethink some of the ways we tackle fires when it’s available.”
It had its own RoboCop moment at Tuesday’s morning fire when it wheeled off the back of the trailer and headed past firefighters up to the blaze. LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said firefighters who have seen everything over the years couldn’t keep their eyes off it. The RS3 had been diverted from its trip to a planned demonstration at the LAFD training facility near Dodger Stadium.
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During a demonstration Tuesday, it unleashed thousands of gallons of water, pushed a Chevy Celebrity like a USC lineman with its plow and sped over an assault course of railroad ties with its grippy treads. While designed for more urban uses, it is capable of ascending a 70-degree slope.
A firefighter can operate the robot remotely or can be tethered to it. A heat-shielding apparatus allows it to be operated for up to 10 hours. And its 5,000-pound winch can tow up to 1,750 pounds.
California Man vs. machine: L.A. sheriff’s deputies use robot to snatch rifle from barricaded suspect, end standoff An hours-long standoff in the darkness of the high desert came to a novel end when Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies used a robot to stealthily snatch a rifle from an attempted murder suspect, authorities said Thursday.
The technology behind the department’s latest firefighting tool has been used in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe. Oil companies already enlist such flame terminators.
The chassis is patterned after U.S. Army robots — used to destroy improvised explosive devices — built by the same company, Howe and Howe Technologies, the brains behind the Ripsaw super tank. The chassis, designed to help disarm IEDs, has been tested at Aberdeen Proving Grounds and was found to be one of the most durable built.
It joins a fleet of other robots on the city roster, including the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad‘s BatCat — a 39,000-pound remote-control vehicle that looks like a forklift truck on steroids and has a massive telescopic arm.
Like the BatCat, the RS3 can be the eyes and ears for its human counterparts in a potentially explosive situation. With multiple high-definition video cameras as well as an infrared camera, it can help locate people and the source of flames. Terrazas said the RS3 can literally wheel right up to the heart of the fire.
The RS3 is also assigned to Fire Station 3, one of Los Angeles’ busiest, as part of the Urban Search and Rescue team.
L.A. City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, the daughter of a firefighter who joined the department in the 1970s, said that she is amazed at the advances in safety since her father’s days fighting fires and that the machine makes the lives of firefighters so much safer.
“Los Angeles continues to be at the forefront of innovations,” she said, speaking alongside Terrazas. Rodriguez noted it was not public funds but fundraising by the nonprofit LAFD Foundation that made the acquisition possible. The money, she said, is much needed, “particularly when our budget has been so slammed by COVID-19.”
The foundation raised $272,000 to purchase the first-of-its-kind robot, according to Terrazas. The LAFD added a plow and a bunch of extra bells and whistles. The major donors that funded the RS3 include the foundation of billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Whether more robots will be added to LAFD ranks remains to be decided. Terrazas said this one can reach much of the city in a short period but given the size of Los Angeles, it does make some sense to consider staging others in locations across the metropolis. But, he said, a lot of that depends on how things go with the new firefighting machine.


latimes--2020-10-15--Glendale confronts its racist past, apologizing for 'sundown' laws

When Tanita Harris-Ligons moved to Glendale in 2008 , she said locals kept asking her where she was visiting from .
“ If you ’ re Black , they didn ’ t believe you lived there , ” she said of the city that was once a bastion for white supremacy groups and a so-called sundown town , where Black people weren ’ t welcome after dark .
About two years later , her son , Jalani , started middle school in the city , and the children began to separate along racial and ethnic lines , Harris-Ligons said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latinos at another and Armenians at still another , she said .
Jalani came to her and said , “ There ’ s nowhere for me to sit.
” That ’ s when Harris-Ligons decided to found Black in Glendale , “ so my children could have a better experience , ” she said .
The city ’ s racist past has cast a long , dark shadow that Glendale is now taking steps to remedy .
It is the first city in California , and just the third in the nation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of racial exclusion — an action shepherded by Black in Glendale and other advocacy groups .
Sundown towns kept Black people out by a combination of laws and informal policies , including racist housing covenants and police intimidation , said James Loewen , a sociologist and leading scholar on the subject .
Sometimes municipalities took aim at other communities of color , he added .
The practice — named after signs often posted at the city limits saying that Black people needed to leave by sundown — dates to the late 19th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around 1915 , when large numbers of Black Southerners began moving there as part of what ’ s known as the Great Migration .
Despite its progressive reputation , California has been home to at least 100 such towns , including Glendale , Loewen said .
Burbank was also a sundown town , and Pasadena had exclusionary elements , including a segregated pool , according to Los Angeles photographer Candacy Taylor More than 50 towns in the state “ went sundown ” by excluding Chinese Americans in the 1870s and 1880s , Loewen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the 1960s , and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 in particular , stymied the overt exclusion of Black people in most communities , many places continued to use harassment and other intimidation methods to keep the areas majority white .
Some practices employed by sundown towns continue today , including in parts of California , Loewen said .
Tara Peterson , a member of the Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale , which helped draft the city ’ s resolution , said such practices existed in Glendale until the 1990s .
Growing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1940s , Kenneth Bonnell heard that any Black person found after dark in Glendale would be arrested , he said in a letter to The Times in 1987 .
Working for a title company in Los Angeles County after World War II , Bonnell said , he was well acquainted with housing deeds that restricted homeownership in Glendale to white people .
“ The people who moved to Glendale at that time to bask in its lily white image produced children whose views reflected their own and who still live in Glendale , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ published less than two weeks after a meeting by a white supremacist group in Glendale nearly spurred a riot .
Glendale joins La Crosse , Wis. , and Goshen , Ind.
, as the only cities in the United States to pledge to transcend their racist past , Loewen said .
Peterson said this is an important initial step .
“ Diversity , equity and inclusion are important , ” she said .
“ But before we can even get to that discussion , we need to first acknowledge the role that Glendale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it caused to people of color and Black people in this community , by being a sundown town.
” The resolution , adopted unanimously last month by the City Council , arrived in the wake of an international outcry after the killing of George Floyd , a Black Minneapolis man , at the hands of white police officers in May .
Protests demanding recognition and change of racist policing and policies broke out in Los Angeles County , mirroring action across the country .
More than 1,500 demonstrators marched to Glendale City Hall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black Lives Matter movement .
Glendale ’ s apology “ is emblematic of the desire in this present moment of national reckoning with our past racism , to look at our behavior , our past — whether we are cities or institutions of higher education — and say , ‘ What was our complicity in this ?
’ ” said Laura E. Gómez , director of UCLA School of Law ’ s Critical Race Studies Program .
“ I think it ’ s a really positive thing , but it is definitely part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Although Glendale officials did not find any explicit sundown laws on the city ’ s books , they said there was other evidence of the practice , including incidents of police escorting people of color outside the city limits , according to a report from Christine Powers , an analyst for the city of Glendale .
The city also has historical ties to white supremacy groups .
The Ku Klux Klan was active from the 1920s until the 1960s .
The American Nazi Party established its headquarters in Glendale in 1960s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run out of town in the late 1970s .
But Harris-Ligons said you don ’ t need to search any history books to find examples of racism in the city .
She described racist interactions with apartment owners and at local schools as “ residuals of being a sundown town.
” “ To me , this resolution symbolizes shifting your mindset and shifting your consciousness about inclusivity and acknowledging that there are other people in Glendale , ” she said .
A century ago , Glendale ’ s Black population was two-tenths of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report .
Today it is still under 2 % .
One way the city can start to make amends is by increasing the number of Black people it hires , Peterson said .
Over the last 10 years , there ’ s been a 12 % decrease in Black employees , and no increase for Asian or Latino employees .
There has been a 157 % increase in Armenian employees , Peterson said , noting that was likely done to rectify a time when Armenians were not represented in city jobs , despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Discriminatory practices often persist in a city , whatever the local laws say , Loewen said .
Despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , many restaurants and motels in the northern U.S. would not serve black customers into the 1980s and 1990s , or might make one-time exceptions to avoid punishment , he said .
That ’ s in part because the laws are not enforced .
“ The federal government just responds to pressure and cases brought to it , ” Loewen said .
In places with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s no way to mount a consistent pressure against sundown towns because there ’ s no Black residents there to mount it.
” Taylor , who launched an art project around a mid-century guidebook geared toward Black road-trippers called the Negro Motorist Green Book , told The Times in 2016 that the West was sometimes more dangerous because of a dearth of Black people and ambiguity about tolerance .
“ Westerners tend to be pretty delusional about issues of race sometimes , ” she said .
“ We demonize the Jim Crow South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there were sometimes safer because there were clear signs .
You knew where you could and couldn ’ t be .
If you traveled to the North or the West and you sat down in a restaurant , you could sit for an hour and nobody would come to you.
” Now that Glendale ’ s resolution is on the books , Harris-Ligons said she wants to see action .
“ This is about not just declaring it , but doing the work , ” she said .
City Councilman Dan Brotman said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as it seeks to hire a city manager .
The Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale wrote to city officials saying they need to find someone who embodies anti-racist values .
“ It ’ s already become something that we have to be accountable for , ” Brotman said .
Loewen said he thought the resolution , while symbolic , could portend change .
“ Once you do something like Glendale did , I think it ’ s harder to have an all-white police force and have that kind of rhetoric and so on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s important for Glendale .
And I also do think it ’ s important as an example.
” The city has previously taken stands on controversial international issues .
One of its parks features a statue honoring Korean “ comfort women , ” who were forced to serve in Japanese military brothels during World War II .
City officials have long pushed for recognition of the Armenian genocide .
Most recently , Glendale announced its support for Armenia in a reignited war with Azerbaijan over a contested border region .
Recognizing its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a better moral position when we point to other historic crimes , ” Brotman said .
“ It ’ s kind of hard to do that when you ’ re not willing to look at yourself .
”

Tanita Harris-Ligons, founder of Black in Glendale, says you don’t need to search any history books to find examples of racism in Glendale.
When Tanita Harris-Ligons moved to Glendale in 2008, she said locals kept asking her where she was visiting from.
“If you’re Black, they didn’t believe you lived there,” she said of the city that was once a bastion for white supremacy groups and a so-called sundown town, where Black people weren’t welcome after dark.
For the record: An earlier version of this article stated there had been no increase in the number of Latino and Asian employees hired by the city of Glendale in the past 10 years. Between 2003 and 2016, there was a 5% increase among those workers. In addition, the story stated the number of Armenian employees jumped by 157%. That number increased by 62% during those years.
About two years later, her son, Jalani, started middle school in the city, and the children began to separate along racial and ethnic lines, Harris-Ligons said. White children sat at one table, Latinos at another and Armenians at still another, she said.
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Jalani came to her and said, “There’s nowhere for me to sit.”
That’s when Harris-Ligons decided to found Black in Glendale, “so my children could have a better experience,” she said.
The city’s racist past has cast a long, dark shadow that Glendale is now taking steps to remedy. It is the first city in California, and just the third in the nation, to pass a resolution apologizing for its history of racial exclusion — an action shepherded by Black in Glendale and other advocacy groups.
Sundown towns kept Black people out by a combination of laws and informal policies, including racist housing covenants and police intimidation, said James Loewen, a sociologist and leading scholar on the subject. Sometimes municipalities took aim at other communities of color, he added.
The practice — named after signs often posted at the city limits saying that Black people needed to leave by sundown — dates to the late 19th century and spread to the North beginning around 1915, when large numbers of Black Southerners began moving there as part of what’s known as the Great Migration.
Despite its progressive reputation, California has been home to at least 100 such towns, including Glendale, Loewen said. Burbank was also a sundown town, and Pasadena had exclusionary elements, including a segregated pool, according to Los Angeles photographer Candacy Taylor. More than 50 towns in the state “went sundown” by excluding Chinese Americans in the 1870s and 1880s, Loewen said.
Although the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 in particular, stymied the overt exclusion of Black people in most communities, many places continued to use harassment and other intimidation methods to keep the areas majority white. Some practices employed by sundown towns continue today, including in parts of California, Loewen said.
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Tara Peterson, CEO of YWCA Glendale, helps lead the Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale, which helped draft the city’s resolution. She said sundown practices existed in Glendale until the 1990s.
Growing up in Highland Park in the early 1940s, Kenneth Bonnell heard that any Black person found after dark in Glendale would be arrested, he said in a letter to The Times in 1987.
Working for a title company in Los Angeles County after World War II, Bonnell said, he was well acquainted with housing deeds that restricted homeownership in Glendale to white people. “The people who moved to Glendale at that time to bask in its lily white image produced children whose views reflected their own and who still live in Glendale,” he wrote.
The letter was published less than two weeks after a meeting by a white supremacist group in Glendale nearly spurred a riot.
Glendale joins La Crosse, Wis., and Goshen, Ind., as the only cities in the United States to pledge to transcend their racist past, Loewen said.
Peterson says this is an important initial step.
Tara Peterson, of the Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale, helped draft the city’s resolution to denounce its sundowner town history. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
“Diversity, equity and inclusion are important,” she said. “But before we can even get to that discussion, we need to first acknowledge the role that Glendale played, as far as harm that it caused to people of color and Black people in this community, by being a sundown town.”
The resolution, adopted unanimously last month by the City Council, arrived in the wake of an international outcry after the killing of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man, at the hands of white police officers in May. Protests demanding recognition and change of racist policing and policies broke out in Los Angeles County, mirroring action across the country. More than 1,500 demonstrators marched to Glendale City Hall on June 7 in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Glendale’s apology “is emblematic of the desire in this present moment of national reckoning with our past racism, to look at our behavior, our past — whether we are cities or institutions of higher education — and say, ‘What was our complicity in this?’ ” said Laura E. Gómez, director of UCLA School of Law’s Critical Race Studies Program.
“I think it’s a really positive thing,” she said, “but it is definitely part of this larger trend.”
Although Glendale officials did not find any explicit sundown laws on the city’s books, they said there was other evidence of the practice, including incidents of police escorting people of color outside the city limits, according to a report from Christine Powers, an analyst for the city of Glendale.
The city also has historical ties to white supremacy groups. The Ku Klux Klan was active from the 1920s until the 1960s. The American Nazi Party established its headquarters in Glendale in 1960s, where it operated until it was run out of town in the late 1970s.
But Harris-Ligons said you don’t need to search any history books to find examples of racism in the city. She described racist interactions with apartment owners and at local schools as “residuals of being a sundown town.”
“To me, this resolution symbolizes shifting your mindset and shifting your consciousness about inclusivity and acknowledging that there are other people in Glendale,” she said.
A century ago, Glendale’s Black population was two-tenths of a percent, according to Powers’ report. Today it is still under 2%.
One way the city can start to make amends is by increasing the number of Black people it hires, Peterson said. From 2003 to 2016, there was a 12% decrease in Black employees. Among Asian and Latino employees, there has been a 5% increase. And there has been a 62% increase in Armenian employees during that time, Peterson said, noting that was likely done to rectify a time when Armenians were not represented in city jobs, despite Glendale having a large ethnic Armenian community.
Discriminatory practices often persist in a city, whatever the local laws say, Loewen said. Despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many restaurants and motels in the northern U.S. would not serve black customers into the 1980s and 1990s, or might make one-time exceptions to avoid punishment, he said.
That’s in part because the laws are not enforced.
“The federal government just responds to pressure and cases brought to it,” Loewen said. In places with small Black populations, “there’s no way to mount a consistent pressure against sundown towns because there’s no Black residents there to mount it.”
Taylor, who launched an art project around a mid-century guidebook geared toward Black road-trippers called the Negro Motorist Green Book, told The Times in 2016 that the West was sometimes more dangerous because of a dearth of Black people and ambiguity about tolerance.
“Westerners tend to be pretty delusional about issues of race sometimes,” she said. “We demonize the Jim Crow South. But in some regards, people there were sometimes safer because there were clear signs. You knew where you could and couldn’t be. If you traveled to the North or the West and you sat down in a restaurant, you could sit for an hour and nobody would come to you.”
Now that Glendale’s resolution is on the books, Harris-Ligons said she wants to see action.
“This is about not just declaring it, but doing the work,” she said.
City Councilman Dan Brotman said the city is applying the new pledge as it seeks to hire a city manager. The Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale wrote to city officials saying they need to find someone who embodies anti-racist values.
“It’s already become something that we have to be accountable for,” Brotman said.
Loewen said he thought the resolution, while symbolic, could portend change.
“Once you do something like Glendale did, I think it’s harder to have an all-white police force and have that kind of rhetoric and so on,” Loewen said. “It’s important for Glendale. And I also do think it’s important as an example.”
The city has previously taken stands on controversial international issues. One of its parks features a statue honoring Korean “comfort women,” who were forced to serve in Japanese military brothels during World War II. City officials have long pushed for recognition of the Armenian genocide. Most recently, Glendale announced its support for Armenia in a reignited war with Azerbaijan over a contested border region.
Recognizing its own ”dark past … puts us in a better moral position when we point to other historic crimes,” Brotman said. “It’s kind of hard to do that when you’re not willing to look at yourself.”


latimes--2020-10-15--Husband-and-wife nurses contract COVID-19. She died in the hospital where she worked

When coronavirus cases began to tick up in the spring , Saludacion “ Sally ” Solon Fontanilla , a nurse at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley , took some time off .
As a diabetic with a history of asthma , she worried she could contract the virus from a patient .
But the veteran nurse couldn ’ t stay away long .
Her professional calling was too great , and her patients needed her , so she she returned to work in July .
Sally worked the night shift in the telemetry unit , where patients are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ monitoring .
Her team was the first at St. Mary assigned to care for COVID-19 patients , and Sally piled on layers of personal protective equipment before doling out medication , food and other care to infected patients .
But she soon came home from work feeling ill. “ It just went down from there , ” said Sally ’ s husband , Ebenezer “ Ben ” Fontanilla , who also works as a nurse at St. Mary .
Tethered to a ventilator for almost two months , the 51-year-old died of COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where she had worked for 23 years .
Sally was born Oct. 19 , 1968 , in Tupi in the Philippines and began her nursing career soon after moving to the U.S. in 1993 .
She returned to her hometown every year , spending about a month each time reuniting with family and friends — including her high school buddy , Ben .
The two sat a couple of desks apart in class .
They went to the movies and bowled together .
As they each neared 30 , mutual friends started nudging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re getting older , what do you think ?
” Ben recalled with a laugh .
The pair married in 2000 , at a wedding their friends arranged in the Filipino city of General Santos .
After three years in a long-distance marriage , Ben finally joined Sally in Victorville .
Though she ’ d been in the U.S. for a decade , she waited for him to arrive so they could decide together which house and car to purchase .
Trained as a lawyer , Ben went back to school for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ St. Mary with his wife .
They adjusted easily to their new life together , making friends and developing a work family .
Haley Lampman , a nurse who worked alongside Sally , said she was always “ super happy.
” “ Even at the end of her shift , even at the end of 12 hours , she was always joyful , ” Lampman said .
“ Her patients always felt that.
” It was at the end of one of those shifts that the nurse with nearly three decades of experience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home with a low-grade fever and cough .
Ben took her the next day to St. Mary ’ s emergency room , where she was tested for COVID-19 .
Ben thinks his wife was infected by a patient at work and then brought the virus home , where he also fell ill. “ When you go into work , you will always have a COVID patient .
That ’ s a given , ” Ben said .
Both husband and wife were hospitalized , and the two texted each other from separate rooms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home after five days , but Sally was transferred to the intensive care unit when she began having difficulty breathing .
The texting stopped when she was put on a ventilator .
“ With COVID , you ’ re drowning .
You ’ re drowning ; you can not breathe , ” Ben said .
“ It ’ s awful , the severity of the effects of the COVID virus in your lungs.
” Ben was allowed to visit Sally in the ICU as doctors struggled to bolster her weakened lungs .
Ultimately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ These cases of COVID are real for front-line workers like us , ” Ben said .
Experts have criticized the federal government for not publishing a comprehensive tally of healthcare workers who have contracted the disease .
National Nurses United , the largest group of registered nurses in the U.S. , has been tracking infections and deaths among healthcare workers .
Last month , the union released a report saying that more than 1,700 had died , including at least 213 nurses .
The group lambasted government officials for insufficient tracking and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In California , several hospitals have been fined for not keeping workers safe from the virus , including Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center , where a 61-year-old charge nurse rushed in to administer life-saving chest compressions to a dying COVID-19 patient in April .
She was wearing only a thin surgical mask , rather than a more protective N95 mask because of a lack of PPE at the hospital .
She contracted the virus and died two weeks later .
“ These deaths were avoidable and unnecessary due to government and employer willful inaction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work without personal protective equipment they needed to do their job safely , ” National Nurses United President Zenei Cortez said in a statement .
“ It is immoral and unconscionable that they lost their lives .
Our state and federal governments must require hospitals and other healthcare employers to publicly report infection rates and deaths of their workers.
” On Saturday , co-workers in Sally ’ s tight-knit work community gathered to release a bouquet of colorful balloons , etched with heartfelt messages : Miss you forever .
Love you always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We will remember you every single day .
“ Sally was a beloved nurse at St. Mary Medical Center , and we are devastated by her tragic passing .
Not only did she exemplify what it means to be a compassionate nurse , but more so what it meant to be a compassionate person , ” Patricia Aidem , a spokeswoman for Providence hospitals , which includes St. Mary , said in an emailed statement .
“ Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and our staff who are in mourning.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Victorville , and the hospital where she worked nearly half of her life — and where she died — plans to hold memorial services in her honor .
“ I guess you don ’ t realize how tight you are with your work family until you experience something like this , and I think everybody kind of came together at the end and realized how much we mean to each other , ” Lampman said .
That extended work family continues to embrace Ben , who would have celebrated his 20-year anniversary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ married couple , the two took trips almost every spring and autumn , including visits to see the cherry blossoms in Washington , D.C. , and the leaves change in New York .
They had planned an Alaskan cruise this spring , before the pandemic shut everything down .
Ben , who continues to work at St. Mary , is transitioning into another new life , this one without Sally .
“ I have friends , close friends that are supporting me .
Sometimes they come in and bring me some food , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Basically , I ’ m all alone in the house because there [ was ] just two of us .
”

Sally Fontanilla, pictured during a trip to Seattle, loved traveling with her husband, Ben. They were supposed to take an Alaskan cruise this spring, but the pandemic canceled their plans.
When coronavirus cases began to tick up in the spring, Saludacion “Sally” Solon Fontanilla, a nurse at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, took some time off. As a diabetic with a history of asthma, she worried she could contract the virus from a patient.
But the veteran nurse couldn’t stay away long. Her professional calling was too great, and her patients needed her, so she returned to work in July.
Sally worked the night shift in the telemetry unit, where patients are often in critical condition and need constant monitoring. Her team was the first at St. Mary assigned to care for COVID-19 patients, and Sally piled on layers of personal protective equipment before doling out medication, food and other care to infected patients.
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But she soon came home from work feeling ill.
“It just went down from there,” said Sally’s husband, Ebenezer “Ben” Fontanilla, who also works as a nurse at St. Mary.
Tethered to a ventilator for almost two months, the 51-year-old died of COVID-19 on Oct. 5 at the same hospital where she had worked for 23 years.
Sally was born Oct. 19, 1968, in Tupi in the Philippines and began her nursing career soon after moving to the U.S. in 1993. She returned to her hometown every year, spending about a month each time reuniting with family and friends — including her high school buddy, Ben. The two sat a couple of desks apart in class. They went to the movies and bowled together.
Coworkers and friends of Sally Fontanilla gather to release balloons in her honor. (St. Mary Medical Center)
As they each neared 30, mutual friends started nudging them: “Hey guys, you’re getting older, what do you think?” Ben recalled with a laugh. The pair married in 2000, at a wedding their friends arranged in the Filipino city of General Santos.
After three years in a long-distance marriage, Ben finally joined Sally in Victorville. Though she’d been in the U.S. for a decade, she waited for him to arrive so they could decide together which house and car to purchase.
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Trained as a lawyer, Ben went back to school for nursing and soon landed a job at St. Mary with his wife. They adjusted easily to their new life together, making friends and developing a work family.
Haley Lampman, a nurse who worked alongside Sally, said she was always “super happy.”
“Even at the end of her shift, even at the end of 12 hours, she was always joyful,” Lampman said. “Her patients always felt that.”
It was at the end of one of those shifts that the nurse with nearly three decades of experience began to feel sick. She came home with a low-grade fever and cough. Ben took her the next day to St. Mary’s emergency room, where she was tested for COVID-19.
Ben thinks his wife was infected by a patient at work and then brought the virus home, where he also fell ill.
“When you go into work, you will always have a COVID patient. That’s a given,” Ben said.
Both husband and wife were hospitalized, and the two texted each other from separate rooms in St. Mary. Ben ultimately returned home after five days, but Sally was transferred to the intensive care unit when she began having difficulty breathing. The texting stopped when she was put on a ventilator.
“With COVID, you’re drowning. You’re drowning; you cannot breathe,” Ben said. “It’s awful, the severity of the effects of the COVID virus in your lungs.”
Ben was allowed to visit Sally in the ICU as doctors struggled to bolster her weakened lungs. Ultimately, she stopped responding to treatments.
Ben and Sally Fontanilla often took trips together in the spring and autumn. The two were set to celebrate their 20-year wedding anniversary in December. (Ben Fontanilla)
“These cases of COVID are real for front-line workers like us,” Ben said.
Experts have criticized the federal government for not publishing a comprehensive tally of healthcare workers who have contracted the disease.
National Nurses United, the largest group of registered nurses in the U.S., has been tracking infections and deaths among healthcare workers. Last month, the union released a report saying that more than 1,700 had died, including at least 213 nurses. The group lambasted government officials for insufficient tracking and a lack of personal protective equipment.
In California, several hospitals have been fined for not keeping workers safe from the virus, including Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, where a 61-year-old charge nurse rushed in to administer life-saving chest compressions to a dying COVID-19 patient in April. She was wearing only a thin surgical mask, rather than a more protective N95 mask because of a lack of PPE at the hospital. She contracted the virus and died two weeks later.
“These deaths were avoidable and unnecessary due to government and employer willful inaction. Nurses and healthcare workers were forced to work without personal protective equipment they needed to do their job safely,” National Nurses United President Zenei Cortez said in a statement.
“It is immoral and unconscionable that they lost their lives. Our state and federal governments must require hospitals and other healthcare employers to publicly report infection rates and deaths of their workers.”
On Saturday, co-workers in Sally’s tight-knit work community gathered to release a bouquet of colorful balloons, etched with heartfelt messages: Miss you forever. Love you always. We will never forget you. We will remember you every single day.
“Sally was a beloved nurse at St. Mary Medical Center, and we are devastated by her tragic passing. Not only did she exemplify what it means to be a compassionate nurse, but more so what it meant to be a compassionate person,” Patricia Aidem, a spokeswoman for Providence hospitals, which includes St. Mary, said in an emailed statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and our staff who are in mourning.”
The longtime nurse will be buried Friday in Victorville, and the hospital where she worked nearly half of her life — and where she died — plans to hold memorial services in her honor.
“I guess you don’t realize how tight you are with your work family until you experience something like this, and I think everybody kind of came together at the end and realized how much we mean to each other,” Lampman said.
That extended work family continues to embrace Ben, who would have celebrated his 20-year anniversary with Sally in December. As a married couple, the two took trips almost every spring and autumn, including visits to see the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., and the leaves change in New York. They had planned an Alaskan cruise this spring, before the pandemic shut everything down.
Ben, who continues to work at St. Mary, is transitioning into another new life, this one without Sally.
“I have friends, close friends that are supporting me. Sometimes they come in and bring me some food, stuff like that,” Ben said. “Basically, I’m all alone in the house because there [was] just two of us.”


latimes--2020-10-15--One man's eye 'exploded,' another lost eight teeth from LAPD projectiles fired at Lakers revelers

When the hard-foam police projectile struck 22-year-old William Gonzalez in the right eye as he celebrated the Lakers ’ NBA title in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday night , it shattered his eye socket , ripped apart his tear duct and “ exploded ” the eyeball itself , doctors said .
The Kobe Bryant jersey that his brother Michael used to stanch the bleeding was immediately soaked as Michael dragged Gonzalez through the streets , trying to find a way out of the chaos .
“ My brother … grabbed me and said ‘ Run !
’ because they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , one day after extensive reconstructive surgery .
Others also were badly injured in the area around Staples Center , where the LAPD declared an unlawful gathering as storefronts were being damaged and officers targeted with thrown bottles and other items .
One man lost eight teeth when a projectile struck him in the mouth .
The injuries Sunday add to a growing list of people hurt by LAPD hard-foam and other “ less lethal ” projectiles , as the LAPD calls them .
Police say the weapons are an effective way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But some of the claims made by police about the weapons — that the rounds don ’ t “ penetrate the skin ” and that officers don ’ t aim at the head or other sensitive body parts — are coming under growing scrutiny after a series of incidents over the last few months , some caught on video .
The cases have brought calls from activists that the Los Angeles Police Department stop using such weapons for crowd control and have placed pressure on the department to explain the injuries .
An @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at mass protests this summer found multiple examples of people being badly wounded by the weapons — with bloodied eyes , head wounds and damaged testicles , among other injuries .
The continued wounding of people in crowd-control situations has come despite litigation over the use of projectiles and settlements that reined in the practice — forcing the LAPD and the city to agree to stricter protocols for how and when the weapons are used .
Under current policy , the foam rounds must only be aimed at the belt line of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers — not fired into crowds , at fleeing people or at those who don ’ t represent a threat .
They are never meant to be aimed at people ’ s heads or necks .
Time and again , however , videos from large demonstrations and other gatherings have shown LAPD officers appearing to break those rules .
In addition to Gonzalez , at least two others were hospitalized Sunday with head injuries .
Manuel Barrientos , a 25-year-old part-time photographer , lost eight teeth and part of his lip when he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family said .
“ He turned around , stepped out into the street to take a picture with his camera , and that ’ s when he felt something hit him , ” said Barrientos ’ brother Jose Meza .
“ When he looked down , he saw a little piece of his lip on the floor and he was dripping blood from his mouth.
” A third man who asked to remain anonymous to avoid attention as he considers litigation told The Times that he and his partner were watching the festivities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rowdy people out there ” when he too was struck in the face — causing a laceration across this right cheek and fracturing a bone around his right eye .
“ I was completely blindsided , ” the 34-year-old downtown resident said .
This summer , amid social justice protests across the nation , LAPD officers shot a man in the head who was standing with his hands raised , as well as a man holding a protest sign who was shot at close range in the testicles .
The LAPD is being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of other summer protesters and activist groups .
In the largest lawsuit , led by Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles , the plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction barring the LAPD from using such weapons for crowd control , with an attorney for the group saying the weapons are designed not to disperse people but to “ incapacitate ” them .
Police officials repeatedly have said that the videos — some their own , from officers ’ body cameras — show a fraction of time and can leave out critical context .
Often , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the use of force in question , they said .
Police say individuals who claim to be neutral observers in a crowd sometimes turn out to have posed a threat or may have been near someone who did .
The LAPD has said it will investigate each of the incidents in which individuals were hospitalized as a result of officers ’ actions Sunday , when 76 people were arrested — one on suspicion of vandalism , two on suspicion of assault on an officer and 73 on suspicion of failure to disperse .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and are recovering , officials said .
But police have resisted calls for projectile launchers to be banned from crowd-control operations , claiming that the weapons are a crucial piece of their less-lethal arsenal — able to help quell violent , dangerous and destructive situations without relying on more serious force .
But those who have been injured , as well as their advocates , say the reality is that the projectiles are potentially deadly — and that LAPD officers have proved they are not using them as instructed .
The results are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surgeon , Dr. Linden Doss , who spoke to The Times with Gonzalez ’ s permission .
The damage was extensive , Doss said , as if Gonzalez had been struck by a bat and bitten by a dog all at once .
He will never see out of his right eye and will probably need to have it removed to avoid the threat of losing vision in his good eye through a phenomenon known as sympathetic ophthalmia — a process by which the immune system begins to attack both eyes if one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the body .
Dr. David Samimi , who operated on Gonzalez at California Hospital Medical Center along with Doss , said Gonzalez ’ s injury was “ so severe that the best-case scenario is that he still gets to keep the eye in his head without any sight whatsoever.
” “ But in all likelihood , we are going to have to remove the eye , ” Samimi said .
“ The eye itself just kind of exploded , and the tissue on the inside of the eye was extruded out.
” According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just gotten some food at a taco truck around the corner from 9th and Flower streets when Michael sat on a curb to eat and William moved into the crowd to watch “ everybody have fun , ” he said .
Then , “ out of nowhere I just heard shots , ” William Gonzalez said .
He can not remember much of what happened next .
Michael Gonzalez , 21 , said that when the commotion began , he couldn ’ t see his brother .
Then he heard him screaming .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ called out and I was running to the voice , ” Michael said .
“ It wasn ’ t that far , but with people running everywhere it made it hard for me to find him.
” When Michael finally reached his brother , he was in a panic .
“ I immediately took off my Lakers jersey to put on his eye to support it and stop it from bleeding , but it wasn ’ t helping at all , ” Michael said .
“ The shirt was full of blood.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , at one point reaching a line of California Highway Patrol officers .
At first , the officers pushed them back , the brothers said , before directing them to one area and then another to get picked up by an ambulance .
They said they sat on the ground for half an hour before an ambulance arrived and William Gonzalez was rushed off .
Not far from where Gonzalez was injured , Barrientos too was hit by a police projectile .
According to Meza — Barrientos ’ injuries left him unable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ downtown to take some pictures when he heard an LAPD dispersal order .
He walked off as instructed , Meza said , but turned around to take another picture when he was struck .
Noting the severity of his injuries , others around Barrientos tried to assist him before police took him behind their line , Meza said .
He then sat on the ground for half an hour before an ambulance arrived .
“ There is absolutely not a safe way to use these projectiles , ” Doss said , echoing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an end to their use .
“ These things should not be legal .
”

Los Angeles police officers clear the area near L.A. Live after declaring an unlawful assembly downtown following the Lakers’ championship win Sunday.
When the hard-foam police projectile struck 22-year-old William Gonzalez in the right eye as he celebrated the Lakers’ NBA title in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday night, it shattered his eye socket, ripped apart his tear duct and “exploded” the eyeball itself, doctors said.
The Kobe Bryant jersey that his brother Michael used to stanch the bleeding was immediately soaked as Michael dragged Gonzalez through the streets, trying to find a way out of the chaos.
“My brother … grabbed me and said ‘Run!’ because they were still shooting,” Gonzalez said Tuesday, one day after extensive reconstructive surgery.
Others also were badly injured in the area around Staples Center, where the LAPD declared an unlawful gathering as storefronts were being damaged and officers targeted with thrown bottles and other items. One man lost eight teeth when a projectile struck him in the mouth.
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William Gonzalez, 22, had his eye socket shattered by a police projectile near Staples Center while celebrating the Lakers’ NBA title win Sunday night. His brother Michael, 21, at right, helped him escape the chaos. (Dr. Linden Doss)
The injuries Sunday add to a growing list of people hurt by LAPD hard-foam and other “less lethal” projectiles, as the LAPD calls them. Police say the weapons are an effective way to disperse crowds that have become violent.
But some of the claims made by police about the weapons — that the rounds don’t “penetrate the skin” and that officers don’t aim at the head or other sensitive body parts — are coming under growing scrutiny after a series of incidents over the last few months, some caught on video. The cases have brought calls from activists that the Los Angeles Police Department stop using such weapons for crowd control and have placed pressure on the department to explain the injuries.
An investigation by The Times into police force at mass protests this summer found multiple examples of people being badly wounded by the weapons — with bloodied eyes, head wounds and damaged testicles, among other injuries.
The continued wounding of people in crowd-control situations has come despite litigation over the use of projectiles and settlements that reined in the practice — forcing the LAPD and the city to agree to stricter protocols for how and when the weapons are used.
Under current policy, the foam rounds must only be aimed at the belt line of a targeted individual who represents a threat to officers — not fired into crowds, at fleeing people or at those who don’t represent a threat. They are never meant to be aimed at people’s heads or necks.
1 / 4 William Gonzalez, 22, was treated for injuries to his eyeball and eye socket after being hit by an LAPD projectile. The following are graphic images from his doctor. (Dr. Linden Doss) 2 / 4 Dr. Linden Doss shows the injuries to William Gonzalez’s right eye and eye socket. (Dr. Linden Doss) 3 / 4 The damage was extensive, Doss said, as if Gonzales had been struck by a bat and bitten by a dog all at once. (Dr. Linden Doss) 4 / 4 Gonzalez will never see out of his right eye and will probably need to have it removed to avoid the threat of losing vision in his good eye, the doctor said. (Dr. Linden Doss)
Time and again, however, videos from large demonstrations and other gatherings have shown LAPD officers appearing to break those rules.
In addition to Gonzalez, at least two others were hospitalized Sunday with head injuries. Manuel Barrientos, a 25-year-old part-time photographer, lost eight teeth and part of his lip when he was shot in the mouth, his family said.
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“He turned around, stepped out into the street to take a picture with his camera, and that’s when he felt something hit him,” said Barrientos’ brother Jose Meza. “When he looked down, he saw a little piece of his lip on the floor and he was dripping blood from his mouth.”
A third man who asked to remain anonymous to avoid attention as he considers litigation told The Times that he and his partner were watching the festivities but steering clear of “the particularly rowdy people out there” when he too was struck in the face — causing a laceration across this right cheek and fracturing a bone around his right eye.
“I was completely blindsided,” the 34-year-old downtown resident said.
This summer, amid social justice protests across the nation, LAPD officers shot a man in the head who was standing with his hands raised, as well as a man holding a protest sign who was shot at close range in the testicles.
The LAPD is being sued by those individuals and a collection of other summer protesters and activist groups. In the largest lawsuit, led by Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles, the plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction barring the LAPD from using such weapons for crowd control, with an attorney for the group saying the weapons are designed not to disperse people but to “incapacitate” them.
Police officials repeatedly have said that the videos — some their own, from officers’ body cameras — show a fraction of time and can leave out critical context. Often, factors missed by the footage help explain the use of force in question, they said. Police say individuals who claim to be neutral observers in a crowd sometimes turn out to have posed a threat or may have been near someone who did.
The LAPD has said it will investigate each of the incidents in which individuals were hospitalized as a result of officers’ actions Sunday, when 76 people were arrested — one on suspicion of vandalism, two on suspicion of assault on an officer and 73 on suspicion of failure to disperse. Eight officers were injured in the clashes and are recovering, officials said.
But police have resisted calls for projectile launchers to be banned from crowd-control operations, claiming that the weapons are a crucial piece of their less-lethal arsenal — able to help quell violent, dangerous and destructive situations without relying on more serious force.
But those who have been injured, as well as their advocates, say the reality is that the projectiles are potentially deadly — and that LAPD officers have proved they are not using them as instructed.
The results are devastating, said Gonzalez’s eye surgeon, Dr. Linden Doss, who spoke to The Times with Gonzalez’s permission.
The damage was extensive, Doss said, as if Gonzalez had been struck by a bat and bitten by a dog all at once. He will never see out of his right eye and will probably need to have it removed to avoid the threat of losing vision in his good eye through a phenomenon known as sympathetic ophthalmia — a process by which the immune system begins to attack both eyes if one is traumatized beyond repair and remains in the body.
Dr. David Samimi, who operated on Gonzalez at California Hospital Medical Center along with Doss, said Gonzalez’s injury was “so severe that the best-case scenario is that he still gets to keep the eye in his head without any sight whatsoever.”
“But in all likelihood, we are going to have to remove the eye,” Samimi said. “The eye itself just kind of exploded, and the tissue on the inside of the eye was extruded out.”
According to the Gonzalez brothers, they had just gotten some food at a taco truck around the corner from 9th and Flower streets when Michael sat on a curb to eat and William moved into the crowd to watch “everybody have fun,” he said.
Then, “out of nowhere I just heard shots,” William Gonzalez said. He cannot remember much of what happened next.
Michael Gonzalez, 21, said that when the commotion began, he couldn’t see his brother. Then he heard him screaming.
“I kept hearing my name getting called out and I was running to the voice,” Michael said. “It wasn’t that far, but with people running everywhere it made it hard for me to find him.”
When Michael finally reached his brother, he was in a panic.
“I immediately took off my Lakers jersey to put on his eye to support it and stop it from bleeding, but it wasn’t helping at all,” Michael said. “The shirt was full of blood.”
The brothers said they tried to flee, at one point reaching a line of California Highway Patrol officers. At first, the officers pushed them back, the brothers said, before directing them to one area and then another to get picked up by an ambulance.
They said they sat on the ground for half an hour before an ambulance arrived and William Gonzalez was rushed off.
Not far from where Gonzalez was injured, Barrientos too was hit by a police projectile.
According to Meza — Barrientos’ injuries left him unable to speak Wednesday — his brother had gone downtown to take some pictures when he heard an LAPD dispersal order. He walked off as instructed, Meza said, but turned around to take another picture when he was struck.
Noting the severity of his injuries, others around Barrientos tried to assist him before police took him behind their line, Meza said. He then sat on the ground for half an hour before an ambulance arrived.
“There is absolutely not a safe way to use these projectiles,” Doss said, echoing the belief of many who have called for an end to their use. “These things should not be legal.”


latimes--2020-10-15--Column: We need more than Megan Thee Stallion to save this 'forgotten population' in California

I couldn ’ t help but notice all of the high-minded speechifying on Capitol Hill this week , particularly the male senators who felt the need to make grand proclamations about women ’ s rights and how far my gender has come in America .
Their proof , of course , was Judge Amy Coney Barrett , the white woman from Indiana waiting to take her seat on the Supreme Court .
“ This is history being made , folks , ” Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday morning .
“ This is the first time in American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman who ’ s unashamedly pro-life and embraces her faith without apology .
And she is going to the court , where there is a seat at the table waiting for you .
And it will be a great signal to all young women.
” Maybe so .
But his words , spoken with such insufferably blind gusto , were also a reminder of the persistent political disinterest in acknowledging — much less fixing — the racial inequities that make it harder for most women who look like me to succeed in even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Megan Thee Stallion was brave enough to break it all down in an op-ed penned for the earlier this week .
“ From the moment we begin to navigate the intricacies of adolescence , ” she wrote , “ we feel the weight of this threat , and the weight of contradictory expectations and misguided preconceptions .
Many of us begin to put too much value to how we are seen by others .
That ’ s if we are seen at all .
“ The issue is even more intense for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and are seen as angry or threatening when we try to stand up for ourselves and our sisters .
There ’ s not much room for passionate advocacy if you are a Black woman.
” Megan Thee Stallion has good reason to feel this way .
The hip-hop artist , who is perhaps best known for a song with Cardi B that one Republican congressional candidate said made him want to “ pour holy water in my ears , ” says she was shot by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez while riding in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week , Lanez was charged with assault and , this week , he was ordered to stay away from her and surrender his guns .
“ My initial silence about what happened was out of fear for myself and my friends , ” she wrote .
“ Even as a victim , I have been met with skepticism and judgment.
” This is a story that Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove ( D-Los Angeles ) has heard too many times before in California .
For every Megan Thee Stallion who tries and fails to prove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public , there ’ s another Black woman who tries and fails to prove it to the courts .
And then those women disproportionately end up in prison .
In fact , women are the fastest growing segment of the population that ’ s getting locked up in this state , explained Kamlager-Dove , who is chair of the Legislature ’ s Select Committee on Incarcerated Women .
According to the Public Policy Institute of California , the female jail population has jumped six-fold since 1970 — twice as much as the male @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those women are disproportionately Black and queer .
Kamlager-Dove has been holding hearings with incarnated women across California in recent months , hoping to understand the increase and figure out what sort of legislation might help reverse it or at least ease life for those who must remain behind bars .
So far , what she has found is that most Black women end up in prison because of some combination of poverty , addiction and being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong man — whether it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or sex trafficking .
“ They ’ re sentenced because they ’ ve been sexualized and adultized — I ’ m not sure that ’ s a word , ” she told me .
“ But certainly there is data out there that shows Black girls lose their childhood much quicker than white girls and other girls because they are sexualized as at a younger age .
The sentiment is that they are strong and so they don ’ t need as much emotional support or nurturing .
They are levied with more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and then in and out of juvenile hall , she became a sex trafficking victim as a teenager .
At age 17 , she was charged as an adult and accepted a plea deal for being caught on video helping her pimp force a man he had kidnapped to make purchases at a store .
The pimp wasn ’ t charged , but she got a sentence of nearly a decade .
“ I question if she would have been given the same sentence if she were a man , ” Kamlager-Dove said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been given the same sentence if she were not African American.
” What ’ s more — if that same kidnapping went down today , Aldrich probably wouldn ’ t even have been charged because California lawmakers decided to stop treating exploited minors as criminals .
A petition to commute her sentence is sitting on Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s desk .
He should sign it .
And , yet , for every Keiana Aldrich , there ’ s also a Black woman who gets exploited while in prison in California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 58-year-old great-grandmother was among the thousands of prisoners forced to continue working behind bars during the pandemic , reportedly without masks .
She contracted COVID-19 , of course , and spent weeks in hospital recovering , my colleague Kiera Feldman reported .
Now Hall is back in prison where she has been locked up for 35 years , serving a 15-year-to-life sentence for murdering a man who she says raped and tried to kill her .
As a child , she said was physically and sexually abused .
Hall , like many Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the tail-end of a lifelong cycle of trauma , often made worse by government entities that failed them in their youth , whether it was an underfunded public school or an overwhelmed child protective services agency .
And too often , none of that is taken into account by the courts .
“ They ’ re sentenced for these very long terms without any thought being given to the circumstances which led them there in the first place , ” Kamlager-Dove lamented .
“ And so , quite frankly , until we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it may continue to be harder to pass legislation that deals with it.
” It ’ s why I can only nod at Megan Thee Stallion ’ s assertion that Black women are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect .
“ We deserve to be protected as human beings , ” she wrote .
Kamlager-Dove , who is Black , is willing to try , which is more than I can say for most of the senators talking nonsense about women ’ s rights at Barrett ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s a population that it ’ s a forgotten population , ” she said , frustration creeping into her voice .
“ But at the end of the day , these women are our sisters and our mothers and our grandmothers and our aunts .
And they deserve our attention .
”

I couldn’t help but notice all of the high-minded speechifying on Capitol Hill this week, particularly the male senators who felt the need to make grand proclamations about women’s rights and how far my gender has come in America.
Their proof, of course, was Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the white woman from Indiana waiting to take her seat on the Supreme Court.
“This is history being made, folks,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday morning. “This is the first time in American history that we’ve nominated a woman who’s unashamedly pro-life and embraces her faith without apology. And she is going to the court, where there is a seat at the table waiting for you. And it will be a great signal to all young women.”
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Maybe so. But his words, spoken with such insufferably blind gusto, were also a reminder of the persistent political disinterest in acknowledging — much less fixing — the racial inequities that make it harder for most women who look like me to succeed in even close to the same way in America.
Megan Thee Stallion was brave enough to break it all down in an op-ed penned for the New York Times earlier this week.
“From the moment we begin to navigate the intricacies of adolescence,” she wrote, “we feel the weight of this threat, and the weight of contradictory expectations and misguided preconceptions. Many of us begin to put too much value to how we are seen by others. That’s if we are seen at all.
“The issue is even more intense for Black women, who struggle against stereotypes and are seen as angry or threatening when we try to stand up for ourselves and our sisters. There’s not much room for passionate advocacy if you are a Black woman.”
I will never stop using my voice ✊🏾Thank you to all the beautiful women involved pic.twitter.com/EnefD8XKfP — HOT GIRL MEG (@theestallion) October 13, 2020
Megan Thee Stallion has good reason to feel this way.
The hip-hop artist, who is perhaps best known for a song with Cardi B that one Republican congressional candidate said made him want to “pour holy water in my ears,” says she was shot by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez while riding in an SUV in the Hollywood Hills. Last week, Lanez was charged with assault and, this week, he was ordered to stay away from her and surrender his guns.
“My initial silence about what happened was out of fear for myself and my friends,” she wrote. “Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment.”
This is a story that Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles) has heard too many times before in California. For every Megan Thee Stallion who tries and fails to prove she’s a victim to the public, there’s another Black woman who tries and fails to prove it to the courts. And then those women disproportionately end up in prison.
Women, in fact, are the fastest growing segment of the population that’s getting locked up in this state, explained Kamlager, who is chair of the Legislature’s Select Committee on Incarcerated Women. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the female jail population has jumped six-fold since 1970 — twice as much as the male population during that same period. And those women are disproportionately Black and queer.
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Kamlager has been holding hearings with incarnated women across California in recent months, hoping to understand the increase and figure out what sort of legislation might help reverse it or at least ease life for those who must remain behind bars.
So far, what she has found is that most Black women end up in prison because of some combination of poverty, addiction and being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong man — whether it’s a boyfriend prone to violent behavior or sex trafficking.
“They’re sentenced because they’ve been sexualized and adultized — I’m not sure that’s a word,” she told me. “But certainly there is data out there that shows Black girls lose their childhood much quicker than white girls and other girls because they are sexualized at a younger age. The sentiment is that they are strong and so they don’t need as much emotional support or nurturing. They are levied with more adult expectations.”
Women like Keiana Aldrich.
Molested as a child and then in and out of juvenile hall, she became a sex trafficking victim as a teenager. At age 17, she was charged as an adult and accepted a plea deal for being caught on video helping her pimp force a man he had kidnapped to make purchases at a store. She got a sentence of nearly a decade.
Keiana Aldrich in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Tracey Aldrich)
“I question if she would have been given the same sentence if she were a man,” Kamlager said. “I question if she would have been given the same sentence if she were not African American.”
What’s more — if that same kidnapping went down today, Aldrich probably wouldn’t even have been charged because California lawmakers decided to stop treating exploited minors as criminals. A petition to commute her sentence is sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. He should sign it.
And, yet, for every Keiana Aldrich, there’s also a Black woman who gets exploited while in prison in California. Women like Robbie Hall.
The 58-year-old great-grandmother was among the thousands of prisoners forced to continue working behind bars during the pandemic, reportedly without masks. She contracted COVID-19, of course, and spent weeks in hospital recovering, my colleague Kiera Feldman reported.
California California kept prison factories open. Inmates worked for pennies an hour as COVID-19 spread Inmates who made masks and furniture for as little as 35 cents an hour say they felt pressure to stay on the job, even as the coronavirus spread through the prison factories.
Now Hall is back in prison where she has been locked up for 35 years, serving a 15-year-to-life sentence for murdering a man who she says raped and tried to kill her. As a child, she said was physically and sexually abused.
Hall, like many Black women in prison in California, is at the tail-end of a lifelong cycle of trauma, often made worse by government entities that failed them in their youth, whether it was an underfunded public school or an overwhelmed child protective services agency. And too often, none of that is taken into account by the courts.
“They’re sentenced for these very long terms without any thought being given to the circumstances which led them there in the first place,” Kamlager lamented. “And so, quite frankly, until we have a reckoning with those prejudices, it may continue to be harder to pass legislation that deals with it.”
It’s why I can only nod at Megan Thee Stallion’s assertion that Black women are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect.
“We deserve to be protected as human beings,” she wrote.
Kamlager, who is Black, is willing to try, which is more than I can say for most of the senators talking nonsense about women’s rights at Barrett’s confirmation hearings this week.
“It’s a population that it’s a forgotten population,” she said, frustration creeping into her voice. “But at the end of the day, these women are our sisters and our mothers and our grandmothers and our aunts. And they deserve our attention.”


latimes--2020-10-15--Which businesses would pay more property tax under Proposition 15? It's complicated

For more than four decades , privately owned land in California has been taxed under a one-size-fits-all system .
Be it a duplex or a delicatessen , a ranch or a sprawling ranch-style home , the same limits apply to all property owners .
Proposition 15 would change that , splitting millions of acres of land and buildings into two categories : one for homeowners — whose tax limits would remain unchanged — and one for businesses , whose property tax payments would rise .
The new revenues , totaling as much as $ 12.5 billion under one independent analysis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governments and public schools .
Supporters argue the change would mostly affect large corporations , removing the low-tax protections provided by Proposition 13 in 1978 while shielding California ’ s entrepreneurs and farmers .
But the changes will take time and won ’ t come easy .
While Proposition 15 may target expensive corporate properties , it also takes aim at Californians who own multiple business buildings , even those with relatively low property values .
Critics remain unconvinced by the promise of protecting small businesses and have warned its protection for agricultural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Proposition 15 pass , its full implementation will take years .
There will undoubtedly be tax appeals filed by angry business property owners .
And the proposal will require interpretation by local and state government officials — and possibly the courts .
No political brand in California has had more staying power than the one created by anti-tax activists Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann : Proposition 13 .
The ballot measure won handily in 1978 , striking a blow against perceived government largesse and shaping national politics for the rest of the 20th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rail of state politics , untouchable even during California ’ s worst fiscal crises .
Jarvis and Gann based their campaign on ever-rising homeowner property tax bills .
Proposition 13 limits property taxes — residential and commercial — to 1 % of assessed value , with the value tied to the sales price and allowed to rise only with the rate of inflation .
As California ’ s anti-tax position gave way to new taxes through ballot measures in 2012 and 2016 , advocates of the so-called split-roll concept set their sights on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would bring out a new generation of voters with less affinity for Proposition 13 than for new funding for schools and local government services .
Neither side in the battle lacks campaign cash .
Supporters have raised more than $ 47.3 million , bankrolled by California ’ s most politically powerful public employee unions and a political action committee led by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg his wife , Priscilla Chan .
Not surprisingly , a wide array of business groups — dominated by some of the state ’ s biggest corporations — see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bottom line , having collected $ 46.1 million , with real estate interests dominating the list of donors funneled through a larger group , the California Business Roundtable .
Opponents insist business costs in California are already higher than those in other states and that property taxes will be passed along to consumers or prompt some companies to relocate .
Supporters say the issue is fairness , that decades of tax breaks for America ’ s best-known corporations have come at the expense of schools , public safety and government services .
Proposition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Southern California and the Bay Area to highlight that multimillion-dollar corporations enjoy the same low-tax protections as California homeowners .
Lenny Goldberg , a former state Capitol lobbyist who has championed split-roll proposals for years , said that when corporations pay higher property taxes after upgrading their buildings , it obscures the dirt-cheap assessments of the land underneath .
“ People don ’ t appreciate that a lot of it is about land values , ” Goldberg said .
“ When we talk about Disneyland or Disney Studios , people say , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of new stuff , their values have gone up.
’ That ’ s true .
But the land value at the core of Disneyland is still at a 1975 value.
” Goldberg ’ s 2012 analysis of Silicon Valley commercial property assessments found land owned by some high-tech companies valued at $ 100,000 an acre or less , a fraction of market prices .
Current tax records show those land values have risen slightly but are still exceedingly low — not only when judged by nearby property values , but even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outskirts of those communities .
Proposition 15 supporters argue that big corporations can afford to pay more , and they say the ballot measure excludes business properties that are less valuable .
Not all cheap properties are excluded Proposition 15 promises to draw a bright line between large and small businesses by raising taxes only on properties worth at least $ 3 million .
That threshold comes from the work of USC researchers , who began studying commercial property data in 2015 .
Their most recent report analyzes tax data from a 15-year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commercial property parcels .
The researchers concluded that 80 % of commercial and industrial property in the state is valued at $ 3 million or less — a key reason Proposition 15 supporters believe the tax hike won ’ t affect most businesses .
Most of those properties , according to the report , are worth less than $ 250,000 .
“ This levels the playing field for small businesses that are already paying their fair share , ” said Veronica Carrizales , policy and campaign director for California Calls , an alliance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Press Club debate on Oct. 5 .
But the $ 3-million threshold could be met by the size of a business property owner ’ s portfolio .
A low-value property would be reassessed for higher taxes if its owner — even a partial owner — owns commercial property in California with a total value of $ 3 million or more .
How many cheaper properties would be subject to the higher property tax rules because of their owners is unclear .
The Proposition 15 campaign cites a study it commissioned , based on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 % of the new tax revenues would come from low-value business properties .
There is no current method for determining how many properties any single investor or company owns across 58 counties , said Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone , who opposes Proposition 15 .
“ Assessors don ’ t know the value of property in multiple counties .
We have no way of knowing that without significant expense , ” he said during the Sacramento debate .
Supporters point out that Proposition 15 would set aside a portion of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They say it will be up to state tax officials , not local governments , to investigate whether a business property owner had misled a tax assessor about additional parcels owned in other counties .
Business owners who rent commercial property would appear to be unaffected .
But Proposition 15 opponents have argued that many commercial leases require a business tenant to pay some or all of the owner ’ s property tax — a hidden cost , they say , if voters approve the ballot measure .
In a recent online @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Assn .
of Greater Los Angeles urged its members to warn their tenants about Proposition 15 .
“ Certainly , within expensive corridors in San Francisco and Downtown Los Angeles , rent will increase exponentially for many businesses , large and small , ” the article said .
Supporters say most current business leases will expire before Proposition 15 kicks in and future competition over tenants will discourage building owners from passing on the new costs .
They tout an economic study commissioned by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation that found commercial lease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often comparable , even when building owners pay different amounts of property taxes .
“ If thousands of renters routinely had their rents increase each time properties were reassessed , evidence would be seen , ” economist Christopher Thornberg wrote in the study .
“ Ultimately , this analysis shows that rents are determined by what the market is willing to pay.
” Nor is there agreement on a component of Proposition 15 advertised as a tax cut for smaller businesses : a reduction or elimination of taxes owed on equipment and inventory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be made up by the higher property taxes in large California counties .
But the California Assessors ’ Assn.
, which opposes the ballot measure , believes rural counties — where few or no properties are worth $ 3 million — will end up losing money because of the tax cut on business equipment .
Proposition 15 says it would make “ no change to existing laws affecting the taxation or preservation of agricultural land.
” Opponents question why the measure focuses on land , given that California property taxes are paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , listed as “ improvements ” on an annual tax bill .
Farmers , in particular , believe the ballot measure ’ s silence on land improvements could mean higher property tax assessments for barns , offices — and even fruit trees planted as part of new farming operations .
“ This affects agriculture , ” Jamie Johansson , president of the California Farm Bureau Federation and an Oroville farmer , said during the Sacramento Press Club debate .
“ And multiple-generation farmers , as well as first-time farmers like myself , are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ improvements won ’ t be subject to higher taxes because Proposition 15 tells county tax assessors to skip land zoned as agricultural .
“ You know , we might have been more explicit about it , ” said Goldberg , the longtime advocate of higher commercial property taxes .
“ But no [ county tax assessor ] is going to have a legal leg to stand on if they try to call a fruit tree or irrigation system , or any of that , commercial and industrial .
It ’ s just not.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a disagreement likely left for state officials to resolve if Proposition 15 is approved by voters .

For more than four decades, privately owned land in California has been taxed under a one-size-fits-all system. Be it a duplex or a delicatessen, a ranch or a sprawling ranch-style home, the same limits apply to all property owners.
Proposition 15 would change that, splitting millions of acres of land and buildings into two categories: one for homeowners — whose tax limits would remain unchanged — and one for businesses, whose property tax payments would rise. The new revenues, totaling as much as $12.5 billion under one independent analysis, would be set aside for local governments and public schools.
Supporters argue the change would mostly affect large corporations, removing the low-tax protections provided by Proposition 13 in 1978 while shielding California’s entrepreneurs and farmers.
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But the changes will take time and won’t come easy. While Proposition 15 may target expensive corporate properties, it also takes aim at Californians who own multiple business buildings, even those with relatively low property values. Critics remain unconvinced by the promise of protecting small businesses and have warned its protection for agricultural land includes a worrisome loophole.
Should Proposition 15 pass, its full implementation will take years. There will undoubtedly be tax appeals filed by angry business property owners. And the proposal will require interpretation by local and state government officials — and possibly the courts.
The long debate over commercial property taxes
No political brand in California has had more staying power than the one created by anti-tax activists Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann: Proposition 13. The ballot measure won handily in 1978, striking a blow against perceived government largesse and shaping national politics for the rest of the 20th century. It was the electrified third rail of state politics, untouchable even during California’s worst fiscal crises.
Jarvis and Gann based their campaign on ever-rising homeowner property tax bills. Proposition 13 limits property taxes — residential and commercial — to 1% of assessed value, with the value tied to the sales price and allowed to rise only with the rate of inflation.
As California’s anti-tax position gave way to new taxes through ballot measures in 2012 and 2016, advocates of the so-called split-roll concept set their sights on 2020, believing a high-turnout presidential election would bring out a new generation of voters with less affinity for Proposition 13 than for new funding for schools and local government services.
Neither side in the battle lacks campaign cash. Supporters have raised more than $47.3 million, bankrolled by California’s most politically powerful public employee unions and a political action committee led by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg his wife, Priscilla Chan. Not surprisingly, a wide array of business groups — dominated by some of the state’s biggest corporations — see Proposition 15 as a threat to their bottom line, having collected $46.1 million, with real estate interests dominating the list of donors funneled through a larger group, the California Business Roundtable.
Opponents insist business costs in California are already higher than those in other states and that property taxes will be passed along to consumers or prompt some companies to relocate. Supporters say the issue is fairness, that decades of tax breaks for America’s best-known corporations have come at the expense of schools, public safety and government services.
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Targeting big corporations, wealthy land owners
Proposition 13 critics have scoured property tax records in Southern California and the Bay Area to highlight that multimillion-dollar corporations enjoy the same low-tax protections as California homeowners.
Lenny Goldberg, a former state Capitol lobbyist who has championed split-roll proposals for years, said that when corporations pay higher property taxes after upgrading their buildings, it obscures the dirt-cheap assessments of the land underneath.
“People don’t appreciate that a lot of it is about land values,” Goldberg said. “When we talk about Disneyland or Disney Studios, people say, ‘Oh, well, they built a lot of new stuff, their values have gone up.’ That’s true. But the land value at the core of Disneyland is still at a 1975 value.”
Goldberg’s 2012 analysis of Silicon Valley commercial property assessments found land owned by some high-tech companies valued at $100,000 an acre or less, a fraction of market prices. Current tax records show those land values have risen slightly but are still exceedingly low — not only when judged by nearby property values, but even when compared with commercial property on the outskirts of those communities.
Proposition 15 supporters argue that big corporations can afford to pay more, and they say the ballot measure excludes business properties that are less valuable.
Not all cheap properties are excluded
Proposition 15 promises to draw a bright line between large and small businesses by raising taxes only on properties worth at least $3 million.
That threshold comes from the work of USC researchers, who began studying commercial property data in 2015. Their most recent report analyzes tax data from a 15-year period, covering more than 1.2 million commercial property parcels.
The researchers concluded that 80% of commercial and industrial property in the state is valued at $3 million or less — a key reason Proposition 15 supporters believe the tax hike won’t affect most businesses. Most of those properties, according to the report, are worth less than $250,000.
“This levels the playing field for small businesses that are already paying their fair share,” said Veronica Carrizales, policy and campaign director for California Calls, an alliance of community-based organizations, during a Sacramento Press Club debate on Oct. 5.
But the $3-million threshold could be met by the size of a business property owner’s portfolio. A low-value property would be reassessed for higher taxes if its owner — even a partial owner — owns commercial property in California with a total value of $3 million or more.
How many cheaper properties would be subject to the higher property tax rules because of their owners is unclear. The Proposition 15 campaign cites a study it commissioned, based on the USC research, that projects only 8% of the new tax revenues would come from low-value business properties.
There is no current method for determining how many properties any single investor or company owns across 58 counties, said Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone, who opposes Proposition 15.
“Assessors don’t know the value of property in multiple counties. We have no way of knowing that without significant expense,” he said during the Sacramento debate.
Supporters point out that Proposition 15 would set aside a portion of the new tax revenues to cover implementation costs. They say it will be up to state tax officials, not local governments, to investigate whether a business property owner had misled a tax assessor about additional parcels owned in other counties.
Costs for business renters, small counties
Business owners who rent commercial property would appear to be unaffected. But Proposition 15 opponents have argued that many commercial leases require a business tenant to pay some or all of the owner’s property tax — a hidden cost, they say, if voters approve the ballot measure.
In a recent online article, the Building Owners and Managers Assn. of Greater Los Angeles urged its members to warn their tenants about Proposition 15.
“Certainly, within expensive corridors in San Francisco and Downtown Los Angeles, rent will increase exponentially for many businesses, large and small,” the article said.
Supporters say most current business leases will expire before Proposition 15 kicks in and future competition over tenants will discourage building owners from passing on the new costs. They tout an economic study commissioned by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation that found commercial lease payments in buildings near one another are often comparable, even when building owners pay different amounts of property taxes.
“If thousands of renters routinely had their rents increase each time properties were reassessed, evidence would be seen,” economist Christopher Thornberg wrote in the study. “Ultimately, this analysis shows that rents are determined by what the market is willing to pay.”
Nor is there agreement on a component of Proposition 15 advertised as a tax cut for smaller businesses: a reduction or elimination of taxes owed on equipment and inventory. Those lost tax revenues are likely to be made up by the higher property taxes in large California counties. But the California Assessors’ Assn., which opposes the ballot measure, believes rural counties — where few or no properties are worth $3 million — will end up losing money because of the tax cut on business equipment.
Farmland or farm buildings?
Proposition 15 says it would make “no change to existing laws affecting the taxation or preservation of agricultural land.”
Opponents question why the measure focuses on land, given that California property taxes are paid also on the value of any structures, listed as “improvements” on an annual tax bill. Farmers, in particular, believe the ballot measure’s silence on land improvements could mean higher property tax assessments for barns, offices — and even fruit trees planted as part of new farming operations.
“This affects agriculture,” Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation and an Oroville farmer, said during the Sacramento Press Club debate. “And multiple-generation farmers, as well as first-time farmers like myself, are vulnerable.”
Supporters insist farmland structures or improvements won’t be subject to higher taxes because Proposition 15 tells county tax assessors to skip land zoned as agricultural.
“You know, we might have been more explicit about it,” said Goldberg, the longtime advocate of higher commercial property taxes. “But no [county tax assessor] is going to have a legal leg to stand on if they try to call a fruit tree or irrigation system, or any of that, commercial and industrial. It’s just not.”
Like other implementation issues, it’s a disagreement likely left for state officials to resolve if Proposition 15 is approved by voters.