latimes--2020-02-18--In the Noah's Ark of citrus, caretakers try to stave off a fruit apocalypse

It has been described as a Noah ’ s Ark for citrus : two of every kind .
Spread over 22 acres , UC Riverside ’ s 113-year-old Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection was founded as a place to gather and study as many citrus specimens as possible — right now , the inventory numbers at over 1,000 .
It ’ s an open-air temple where innovations in irrigation , fertilization , pest control , breeding and more have allowed California ’ s iconic $ 7-billion citrus industry to thrive for over a century .
When the trees blossom , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conceivable shape and color — orange and yellow and purple ; as small as a pinky nail or as large and gnarled as Grandpa ’ s hand — a stroll through the collection ’ s immaculately manicured orchards is downright heavenly .
But now , an apocalypse is nigh .
A bacterial infection known as citrus greening , or Huanglongbing , transmitted by the moth-like Asian citrus psyllid , has upended the agricultural world .
It ’ s harmless to humans , but reduces trees to withered , discolored shells of their former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We ’ re getting to a point where it ’ s kinda scary , ” said Tracy Kahn , who has been the Citrus Variety Collection ’ s curator for 25 years .
She and her colleagues knew it was only a matter of time before citrus greening tried to invade their Eden .
Originating in China over a century ago and first spotted in California in 2012 , the disease has ravaged citrus wherever it ’ s appeared and presents an existential threat to the industry .
Citrus greening has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida , where it first entered the U.S. in 2005 and is now estimated to affect 90 % of the state ’ s groves .
Nothing — not the release of parasitic wasps that attack Asian citrus psyllids , or $ 125 million in congressional funds , or even the use of dogs trained to sniff out citrus greening in trees — has stopped its slow spread .
A 1,127-square-mile quarantine zone that encompasses parts of Riverside , San Bernardino , Los Angeles and Orange counties seems to grow every couple of months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ near or far future , and no foolproof way to contain the disease .
The only solution right now for affected trees is to rip them out and replant new ones .
That ’ s what Kahn would do if the collection was compromised .
But the ultimate problem such a scenario would present is more symbolic : If the Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection isn ’ t safe from citrus greening , then no backyard tree or commercial orchard is .
Kahn recently took Dawn Streich , global citrus product manager for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here on a bright , crisp morning .
Near a section dotted with lush pomelo trees , the two stopped and looked over a freshly tilled dirt lot just south of the main campus of UC Riverside .
They gamely smiled .
Here , the Citrus Variety Collection was preparing for a last stand .
In 2017 , Riverside County agricultural officials announced they had discovered an infected tree a little over two miles away .
The news shook Kahn and her colleagues at UC Riverside ’ s College of Natural and Agricultural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they had collaborated with researchers across the world on how to fight citrus greening and tried to reassure increasingly frantic farmers that a solution would happen .
And now , the disease was on their doorstep .
“ I ’ m not retiring until we ’ ve got something good to deal with this , ” said Kahn , 64 , as she brushed back her short , purple-streaked hair .
For now , the solution was a retreat of sorts : a nearly 3-acre screened structure built on the dirt lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gift .
Inside , Kahn will oversee the planting of 1,000 trees reflecting the collection ’ s rarest or most important holdings — a safe space in the case citrus greening overtakes the rest of the collection .
“ There ’ s definitely a fear that something catastrophic can happen here , ” Streich said .
“ So we ’ ve got to protect this treasure.
” The development has saddened industry observers , but it also serves as a reminder of Huanglongbing ’ s unstoppable march .
“ The deadly citrus disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trees get it and which do not , ” says Casey Creamer , president and chief executive of the California Citrus Mutual , a trade association that represents the Golden State ’ s citrus growers .
“ If it happened , it would be sad and disappointing , but it ’ s hard to imagine it not getting to the collection , ” said Melinda Klein , chief research scientist for the Citrus Research Board .
“ It ’ s a numbers game , and the numbers aren ’ t really with us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the news about the disease appearing just down the street from the Citrus Variety Collection on a plane ride to the Central Valley for a citrus greening conference .
Joining Kahn was Georgios Vidalakis , head of UC Riverside ’ s Citrus Clonal Protective Program .
“ I turned to him and said I was worried sick , ” Kahn said .
Vidalakis was initially doom-and-gloom as well .
“ I told Tracy , ‘ In the war of insects versus humans , it ’ s always going to be insects , ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ composed himself .
“ As Georgios and Tracy , we freak out , ” he said .
“ But as directors , we compose ourselves and move ahead .
We ’ re going to do the best we can for the whole industry.
” By then , UC Riverside had already implemented backup plan upon backup plan for its personal doomsday .
Vidalakis has overseen the genetic preservation of each specimen in the collection , while a USDA-run greenhouse within the collection has hundreds of disease-free trees in small pots .
In October @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lab with funds raised by the Citrus Research Board .
There , scientists will deliberately infect trees in a secure environment to test out cures and try to breed disease-resistant trees .
And about 15 minutes away from the Citrus Variety Collection , the school has helped with a test run of sorts for the collection ’ s $ 3.5-million structure with another part of California ’ s agricultural heritage : the Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree .
Planted in 1873 , it was the first of its kind in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crop in Southern California .
Currently 17 feet tall , the tree stood largely undisturbed in a small , fenced-off corner of Magnolia and Arlington streets until 2018 , when the threat of citrus greening required action .
Riverside officials first put the Parent Navel under a cloth tent .
But with a donation from UC Riverside , it now stands within a 40-by-30-foot structure with white , breathable screens as its walls .
The tree is currently fruiting as if all was right in its world .
“ It ’ s such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Adolfo Cruz , director of Riverside ’ s parks , recreation and community services department .
His workers regularly check the Parent Navel to ensure that citrus greening hasn ’ t breached its structure .
“ It ’ s just devastating when you look at the groves ” affected by citrus greening , Cruz said .
“ People can ’ t imagine that here right now , but if you can imagine all our trees looking like that … it ’ s pretty scary.
” So far , the success of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under protective screen , or CUPS — has Kahn and Vidalakis hopeful that their multi-acre plans for the collection can be successful .
Nevertheless , the two know their industry ’ s history too well and understand things will probably get worse before they get better .
They only have to remember that existential threats to the Citrus Variety Collection seem to happen every generation or so .
In the 1950s , a virus-borne citrus disease known as quick decline but more commonly referred to as tristeza ( “ sadness ” in Spanish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California ’ s citrus industry .
Trees died overnight , and farmers in Orange and Los Angeles counties mostly sold their orchards to developers , who went on to create suburban Southern California .
Kahn said that the collection had to be regrown completely in 1981 with root stocks immune to tristeza .
And at the beginning of the 20th century , Vidalakis said , a fungus ravaged California ’ s then-nascent orange industry .
“ All this pressure ” to beat citrus greening for the world and the Citrus Variety Collection , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We ’ re trying to find in 15 to 25 years a problem that no one has found a solution for the past 100 years .
But we have faced challenges before .
We know it ’ s doable .
”

It has been described as a Noah’s Ark for citrus: two of every kind.
Spread over 22 acres, UC Riverside’s 113-year-old Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection was founded as a place to gather and study as many citrus specimens as possible — right now, the inventory numbers at over 1,000. It’s an open-air temple where innovations in irrigation, fertilization, pest control, breeding and more have allowed California’s iconic $7-billion citrus industry to thrive for over a century.
When the trees blossom, or hang heavy with fruit of almost every conceivable shape and color — orange and yellow and purple; as small as a pinky nail or as large and gnarled as Grandpa’s hand — a stroll through the collection’s immaculately manicured orchards is downright heavenly.
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Tracy Kahn, curator of UC Riverside’s Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection, holds a “Valentine” fruit, a cross between a pomelo, a blood orange and a mandarin. It’s one of the many hybrids the collection has produced in its 113-year history. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
But now, an apocalypse is nigh.
A bacterial infection known as citrus greening, or Huanglongbing, transmitted by the moth-like Asian citrus psyllid, has upended the agricultural world. It’s harmless to humans, but reduces trees to withered, discolored shells of their former selves that produce inedible, immature fruit.
“We’re getting to a point where it’s kinda scary,” said Tracy Kahn, who has been the Citrus Variety Collection’s curator for 25 years.
Food California farmers and scientists race to combat a citrus disease infecting trees The world’s most insidious citrus disease invaded Florida in 2005, wreaking havoc on its iconic groves with stunning speed.
She and her colleagues knew it was only a matter of time before citrus greening tried to invade their Eden.
Originating in China over a century ago and first spotted in California in 2012, the disease has ravaged citrus wherever it’s appeared and presents an existential threat to the industry. Citrus greening has caused $2 billion in losses in Florida, where it first entered the U.S. in 2005 and is now estimated to affect 90% of the state’s groves.
Nothing — not the release of parasitic wasps that attack Asian citrus psyllids, or $125 million in congressional funds, or even the use of dogs trained to sniff out citrus greening in trees — has stopped its slow spread. A 1,127-square-mile quarantine zone that encompasses parts of Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange counties seems to grow every couple of months.
Tracy Kahn looks over a plan to build a 3-acre netted structure to protect trees at UC Riverside’s Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection. Construction is scheduled for this spring. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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There is no cure in the near or far future, and no foolproof way to contain the disease. The only solution right now for affected trees is to rip them out and replant new ones. That’s what Kahn would do if the collection was compromised. But the ultimate problem such a scenario would present is more symbolic:
If the Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection isn’t safe from citrus greening, then no backyard tree or commercial orchard is.
Kahn recently took Dawn Streich, global citrus product manager for the Swiss flavor and fragrance company Givaudan, here on a bright, crisp morning. Near a section dotted with lush pomelo trees, the two stopped and looked over a freshly tilled dirt lot just south of the main campus of UC Riverside. They gamely smiled.
Here, the Citrus Variety Collection was preparing for a last stand.
In 2017, Riverside County agricultural officials announced they had discovered an infected tree a little over two miles away. The news shook Kahn and her colleagues at UC Riverside’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. For more than a decade, they had collaborated with researchers across the world on how to fight citrus greening and tried to reassure increasingly frantic farmers that a solution would happen.
And now, the disease was on their doorstep.
Protective netting surrounds the 147-year-old Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree at the corner of Magnolia Street and Arlington Street in Riverside. It launched California’s citrus industry.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m not retiring until we’ve got something good to deal with this,” said Kahn, 64, as she brushed back her short, purple-streaked hair. For now, the solution was a retreat of sorts: a nearly 3-acre screened structure built on the dirt lot, funded by a $3.5-million Givaudan gift.
Inside, Kahn will oversee the planting of 1,000 trees reflecting the collection’s rarest or most important holdings — a safe space in the case citrus greening overtakes the rest of the collection.
“There’s definitely a fear that something catastrophic can happen here,” Streich said. “So we’ve got to protect this treasure.”
The development has saddened industry observers, but it also serves as a reminder of Huanglongbing’s unstoppable march.
“The deadly citrus disease is in no way selective of which trees get it and which do not,” says Casey Creamer, president and chief executive of the California Citrus Mutual, a trade association that represents the Golden State’s citrus growers.
“If it happened, it would be sad and disappointing, but it’s hard to imagine it not getting to the collection,” said Melinda Klein, chief research scientist for the Citrus Research Board. “It’s a numbers game, and the numbers aren’t really with us at this point.”
Kahn remembers hearing the news about the disease appearing just down the street from the Citrus Variety Collection on a plane ride to the Central Valley for a citrus greening conference. Joining Kahn was Georgios Vidalakis, head of UC Riverside’s Citrus Clonal Protective Program.
Tracy Kahn, right, and Givaudan global citrus product manager Dawn Streich take a photo in front of UC Riverside’s Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection. The Swiss company donated $3.5 million to help protect the collection from citrus greening. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“I turned to him and said I was worried sick,” Kahn said.
Vidalakis was initially doom-and-gloom as well.
“I told Tracy, ‘In the war of insects versus humans, it’s always going to be insects,’” he said.
But then he composed himself.
“As Georgios and Tracy, we freak out,” he said. “But as directors, we compose ourselves and move ahead. We’re going to do the best we can for the whole industry.”
By then, UC Riverside had already implemented backup plan upon backup plan for its personal doomsday.
Vidalakis has overseen the genetic preservation of each specimen in the collection, while a USDA-run greenhouse within the collection has hundreds of disease-free trees in small pots.
Tracy Kahn holds a tango mandarin. She will oversee the planting of 1,000 trees reflecting the collection’s rarest or most important holdings to protect against citrus greening. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
In October, UC Riverside opened an $8-million lab with funds raised by the Citrus Research Board. There, scientists will deliberately infect trees in a secure environment to test out cures and try to breed disease-resistant trees. And about 15 minutes away from the Citrus Variety Collection, the school has helped with a test run of sorts for the collection’s $3.5-million structure with another part of California’s agricultural heritage: the Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree.
Planted in 1873, it was the first of its kind in the United States and helped to make oranges a viable crop in Southern California. Currently 17 feet tall, the tree stood largely undisturbed in a small, fenced-off corner of Magnolia and Arlington streets until 2018, when the threat of citrus greening required action.
Riverside officials first put the Parent Navel under a cloth tent. But with a donation from UC Riverside, it now stands within a 40-by-30-foot structure with white, breathable screens as its walls.
The tree is currently fruiting as if all was right in its world.
“It’s such an important piece of our history,” said Adolfo Cruz, director of Riverside’s parks, recreation and community services department. His workers regularly check the Parent Navel to ensure that citrus greening hasn’t breached its structure.
“It’s just devastating when you look at the groves” affected by citrus greening, Cruz said. “People can’t imagine that here right now, but if you can imagine all our trees looking like that … it’s pretty scary.”
So far, the success of the tent — technically called a citrus under protective screen, or CUPS — has Kahn and Vidalakis hopeful that their multi-acre plans for the collection can be successful. Nevertheless, the two know their industry’s history too well and understand things will probably get worse before they get better.
They only have to remember that existential threats to the Citrus Variety Collection seem to happen every generation or so.
In the 1950s, a virus-borne citrus disease known as quick decline but more commonly referred to as tristeza (“sadness” in Spanish) dealt a nearly mortal blow to California’s citrus industry. Trees died overnight, and farmers in Orange and Los Angeles counties mostly sold their orchards to developers, who went on to create suburban Southern California.
Kahn said that the collection had to be regrown completely in 1981 with root stocks immune to tristeza. And at the beginning of the 20th century, Vidalakis said, a fungus ravaged California’s then-nascent orange industry.
“All this pressure” to beat citrus greening for the world and the Citrus Variety Collection, he said with a grim laugh. “We’re trying to find in 15 to 25 years a problem that no one has found a solution for the past 100 years. But we have faced challenges before. We know it’s doable.”


latimes--2020-02-18--A surprise big spender funds attack campaign mailers in key L.A. school board races

The barrage of campaign mail flooding voters in a Los Angeles school board race includes images of a child holding what appears to be a gun , with the message that school board member Jackie Goldberg is responsible for putting children at risk from gun-related violence .
The multiple mailings that Goldberg calls “ pieces of lies ” also suggest that she is responsible for the notorious sexual misconduct at Miramonte Elementary that came to light in 2012 , and that she doesn ’ t care about Latino children .
“ I ’ ve never before in my life been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Goldberg , 75 , who first served on the school board in the 1980s before being elected to the L.A. City Council and state Assembly .
Goldberg , who is running for reelection in the March 3 primary , finds herself in the crosshairs of Bill Bloomfield , a wealthy , retired businessman from Manhattan Beach , who has spent close to $ 2 million so far in two L.A. school board campaigns .
In Goldberg ’ s District 5 , which stretches from neighborhoods north and east of downtown to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has spent more than $ 1 million through Monday ’ s reported totals .
In District 7 — the South L.A.-Harbor seat held by termed-out Board President Richard Vladovic — Bloomfield has so far spent nearly $ 800,000 .
Bloomfield ’ s involvement occurs as four of seven board seats are up for grabs in the nation ’ s second-largest school system .
The ideological shift of even one seat could determine whether charter school supporters or the teachers union gain more power .
The outcome is likely to affect whether the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles , drawing students from traditional schools , or whether the teachers union can push for better pay and more school staffing , even as the district faces future financial problems .
“ We need a fresh perspective , ” wrote Bloomfield , explaining his thinking in a letter that he provided to The Times last week .
“ We need board members who are focused on making dramatic improvements to the system by putting children first .
That is not Jackie Goldberg.
” Countering Bloomfield ’ s spending is the United Teachers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Local 99 of Service Employees International Union , which represents most non-teaching employees in the Los Angeles Unified School District .
Although the unions had not as of last week targeted any candidate with a negative campaign , teachers union president Alex Caputo-Pearl said , “ billionaires are trying to buy our elections ” in an effort to “ privatize ” public education .
“ The latest mailers show their deplorable tactics to win , ” he said , calling Goldberg “ a lifelong educator and civic leader of high regard.
” Bloomfield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that had been filled by the political action committee of the California Charter Schools Assn.
, which was previously the biggest spender .
The teachers union has typically been the second-biggest spender .
That familiar faceoff has surfaced only in the District 3 race in the west San Fernando Valley .
“ I absolutely did not engage in these races as a ‘ surrogate ’ for CCSA , charter supporters or anyone else , ” Bloomfield wrote to The Times .
“ I launched these campaigns because I am passionate about helping children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Board has failed the highest need children for decades.
” Although Bloomfield donated more than $ 2.5 million to the charter school campaign fund in 2017 — when charter-backed candidates won their first board majority — he insisted he is not fundamentally pro-charter : “ In the short-term , I do think charters play a role in communities where the traditional public schools continue to fail our children , but I would absolutely prefer for the district public schools to do better and thus eliminate the need for charters.
” Charter supporters worry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July , which could make it easier for school boards to turn down petitions to open new charter schools .
The union also has concerns : All four board seats on the ballot are held by union-friendly incumbents , and one loss could shift the board ’ s direction .
Charters are privately managed , mostly non-union , public schools that compete for students with district-operated schools .
Nearly 1 in 5 L.A. district students attend more than 200 local charters , the largest number within any school system in the country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ parents and provide needed competition that improves all schools .
Critics say that charters can destabilize public education by siphoning off students who are easier and less expensive to educate .
Charter backers do not have a candidate to oppose incumbent George McKenna , who is lukewarm to charters and is running unopposed in District 1 , which takes in south and southwest L.A .
The charter PAC has so far not endorsed candidates in District 5 or the open District 7 seat .
Some observers perceive a disorganized charter political team , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losses of endorsed candidates in the races for governor and state schools superintendent .
Others simply see a strategic shift — avoiding longshot races and early commitments to candidates .
The group ’ s reorganization has not hindered its strategic thinking , said Chief External Affairs Officer Luis Vizcaino .
“ We do not discuss our political campaign strategy publicly , but CCSA is committed to supporting candidates statewide who believe parents should have access to high-quality public schools for their children , including high-quality , nonprofit public charter schools , ” Vizcaino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stepped Bloomfield , whose family became wealthy in the coin-operated laundry business and other ventures .
Bloomfield evolved from a registered Republican — and an ardent supporter of John McCain ’ s presidential bid — to an independent to a registered Democrat with a dislike for President Trump .
Bloomfield ’ s previous activism has included opposing Big Tobacco .
Goldberg ’ s lone challenger is Christina Martinez Duran , 68 , a semi-retired education consultant , with a long career as a teacher and administrator .
In recent years , she has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve reviewed education programs at local campuses .
In an interview , she talked about the importance of being a voice for parents and of her decades of work in education .
“ I believe I need to be at the table to represent children , parents and the community , ” Duran said .
When asked later about the spending by Bloomfield , who also is paying for the positive mail in support of her , Duran responded by saying her goal as a first-time candidate is to introduce herself to voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms on the school board , returned to the board last May , claiming about 70 % of the vote in a low-turnout special election .
For example , the mailers link Goldberg to the scandal involving bizarre sexual misconduct by a teacher at Miramonte Elementary , which was uncovered in 2012 , 20 years after Goldberg left the Board of Education .
Repeatedly , the mailers also cherry-pick tidbits from Goldberg ’ s decades-long career as an elected official to misrepresent her record of pushing for increased school funding and strong gun-control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smear tactic used in 2014 against then-incumbent Bennett Kayser , who , like Goldberg , is white .
The new anti-Goldberg mailer uses the same layout and the same picture of a group of dejected young Latino students sitting on a curb .
That anti-Kayser ad was funded by the charter school association PAC .
Kayser lost his reelection bid .
So far , Bloomfield has outspent Goldberg and the union combined by a more than 4 to 1 ratio .
With weeks left in the race , union strategists will probably weigh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the other campaigns to buttress Goldberg .
She ’ s less well known in the southern , heavily Latino part of her district , which she had not represented until her return to the board .
In District 7 , five candidates are seeking the seat of the retiring Vladovic .
In that race , Bloomfield has backed two candidates .
One is Tanya Ortiz Franklin , 36 , who taught at an L.A. middle school for five years and went on to oversee programs that focus on social and emotional issues affecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 18 district campuses .
He is also supporting former two-term L.A. school board member Mike Lansing , 63 , who has served for 25 years as the head of the Boys and Girls Club of the Los Angeles Harbor .
Both Lansing and Franklin said they wished the high-volume spending could directly benefit students .
The unions have poured more than $ 460,000 in support of Patricia Castellanos , 49 , the workforce development deputy for L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl .
Castellanos , a district parent , also has worked as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100,000 of Bloomfield ’ s money has gone to a negative campaign against Castellanos .
Bloomfield also is directing a smaller amount of money in a negative campaign against Long Beach second-grade teacher Lydia Gutierrez , 62 , the only Republican in the otherwise Democratic field .
Also on the ballot is Silke Bradford , 39 , a Compton school district administrator with extensive experience overseeing charter schools on behalf of traditional school systems .
If no candidate wins a majority in March , the top two vote-getters in District 7 will face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be settled in March because there are only two candidates .

The barrage of campaign mail flooding voters in a Los Angeles school board race includes images of a child holding what appears to be a gun, with the message that school board member Jackie Goldberg is responsible for putting children at risk from gun-related violence.
The multiple mailings that Goldberg calls “pieces of lies” also suggest that she is responsible for the notorious sexual misconduct at Miramonte Elementary that came to light in 2012, and that she doesn’t care about Latino children.
“I’ve never before in my life been attacked with vicious lies like this,” said Goldberg, 75, who first served on the school board in the 1980s before being elected to the L.A. City Council and state Assembly.
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Goldberg, who is running for reelection in the March 3 primary, finds herself in the crosshairs of Bill Bloomfield, a wealthy, retired businessman from Manhattan Beach, who has spent close to $2 million so far in two L.A. school board campaigns.
In Goldberg’s District 5, which stretches from neighborhoods north and east of downtown to the cities of southeast L.A. County, he has spent more than $1 million through Monday’s reported totals. In District 7 — the South L.A.-Harbor seat held by termed-out Board President Richard Vladovic — Bloomfield has so far spent nearly $800,000.
Jackie Goldberg (Los Angeles Times)
Bloomfield’s involvement occurs as four of seven board seats are up for grabs in the nation’s second-largest school system. The ideological shift of even one seat could determine whether charter school supporters or the teachers union gain more power. The outcome is likely to affect whether the charter sector continues to grow in Los Angeles, drawing students from traditional schools, or whether the teachers union can push for better pay and more school staffing, even as the district faces future financial problems.
“We need a fresh perspective,” wrote Bloomfield, explaining his thinking in a letter that he provided to The Times last week. “We need board members who are focused on making dramatic improvements to the system by putting children first. That is not Jackie Goldberg.”
Countering Bloomfield’s spending is the United Teachers Los Angeles union — with help from Local 99 of Service Employees International Union, which represents most non-teaching employees in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Although the unions had not as of last week targeted any candidate with a negative campaign, teachers union president Alex Caputo-Pearl said, “billionaires are trying to buy our elections” in an effort to “privatize” public education.
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“The latest mailers show their deplorable tactics to win,” he said, calling Goldberg “a lifelong educator and civic leader of high regard.”
Bloomfield has stepped into a campaign spending role that had been filled by the political action committee of the California Charter Schools Assn., which was previously the biggest spender. The teachers union has typically been the second-biggest spender. That familiar faceoff has surfaced only in the District 3 race in the west San Fernando Valley.
“I absolutely did not engage in these races as a ‘surrogate’ for CCSA, charter supporters or anyone else,” Bloomfield wrote to The Times. “I launched these campaigns because I am passionate about helping children, and I believe LAUSD and the Board has failed the highest need children for decades.”
Although Bloomfield donated more than $2.5 million to the charter school campaign fund in 2017 — when charter-backed candidates won their first board majority — he insisted he is not fundamentally pro-charter: “In the short-term, I do think charters play a role in communities where the traditional public schools continue to fail our children, but I would absolutely prefer for the district public schools to do better and thus eliminate the need for charters.”
High stakes
Charter supporters worry about a law that takes effect in July, which could make it easier for school boards to turn down petitions to open new charter schools. The union also has concerns: All four board seats on the ballot are held by union-friendly incumbents, and one loss could shift the board’s direction.
Charters are privately managed, mostly non-union, public schools that compete for students with district-operated schools. Nearly 1 in 5 L.A. district students attend more than 200 local charters, the largest number within any school system in the country.
Supporters say charters offer high-quality choices for parents and provide needed competition that improves all schools. Critics say that charters can destabilize public education by siphoning off students who are easier and less expensive to educate.
Charter backers do not have a candidate to oppose incumbent George McKenna, who is lukewarm to charters and is running unopposed in District 1, which takes in south and southwest L.A. The charter PAC has so far not endorsed candidates in District 5 or the open District 7 seat.
Some observers perceive a disorganized charter political team, which has experienced recent turnover and statewide losses of endorsed candidates in the races for governor and state schools superintendent. Others simply see a strategic shift — avoiding longshot races and early commitments to candidates.
The group’s reorganization has not hindered its strategic thinking, said Chief External Affairs Officer Luis Vizcaino.
“We do not discuss our political campaign strategy publicly, but CCSA is committed to supporting candidates statewide who believe parents should have access to high-quality public schools for their children, including high-quality, nonprofit public charter schools,” Vizcaino said.
Against this backdrop, up stepped Bloomfield, whose family became wealthy in the coin-operated laundry business and other ventures. Bloomfield evolved from a registered Republican — and an ardent supporter of John McCain’s presidential bid — to an independent to a registered Democrat with a dislike for President Trump. Bloomfield’s previous activism has included opposing Big Tobacco.
Goldberg and Duran face off
Goldberg’s lone challenger is Christina Martinez Duran, 68, a semi-retired education consultant, with a long career as a teacher and administrator. In recent years, she has served on volunteer accreditation teams who’ve reviewed education programs at local campuses.
In an interview, she talked about the importance of being a voice for parents and of her decades of work in education.
“I believe I need to be at the table to represent children, parents and the community,” Duran said.
When asked later about the spending by Bloomfield, who also is paying for the positive mail in support of her, Duran responded by saying her goal as a first-time candidate is to introduce herself to voters.
Goldberg, who previously served two terms on the school board, returned to the board last May, claiming about 70% of the vote in a low-turnout special election.
Hoping to topple Goldberg, Bloomfield has unleashed factually misleading allegations.
For example, the mailers link Goldberg to the scandal involving bizarre sexual misconduct by a teacher at Miramonte Elementary, which was uncovered in 2012, 20 years after Goldberg left the Board of Education. Repeatedly, the mailers also cherry-pick tidbits from Goldberg’s decades-long career as an elected official to misrepresent her record of pushing for increased school funding and strong gun-control measures.
The anti-Latino claim replays a smear tactic used in 2014 against then-incumbent Bennett Kayser, who, like Goldberg, is white. The new anti-Goldberg mailer uses the same layout and the same picture of a group of dejected young Latino students sitting on a curb. That anti-Kayser ad was funded by the charter school association PAC. Kayser lost his reelection bid.
So far, Bloomfield has outspent Goldberg and the union combined by a more than 4 to 1 ratio.
With weeks left in the race, union strategists will probably weigh whether to risk financial resources needed in the other campaigns to buttress Goldberg. She’s less well known in the southern, heavily Latino part of her district, which she had not represented until her return to the board.
Five vie for open seat
In District 7, five candidates are seeking the seat of the retiring Vladovic.
In that race, Bloomfield has backed two candidates. One is Tanya Ortiz Franklin, 36, who taught at an L.A. middle school for five years and went on to oversee programs that focus on social and emotional issues affecting students for a nonprofit organization that runs 18 district campuses. He is also supporting former two-term L.A. school board member Mike Lansing, 63, who has served for 25 years as the head of the Boys and Girls Club of the Los Angeles Harbor.
Both Lansing and Franklin said they wished the high-volume spending could directly benefit students.
The unions have poured more than $460,000 in support of Patricia Castellanos, 49, the workforce development deputy for L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. Castellanos, a district parent, also has worked as a senior labor organizer.
More than $100,000 of Bloomfield’s money has gone to a negative campaign against Castellanos.
Bloomfield also is directing a smaller amount of money in a negative campaign against Long Beach second-grade teacher Lydia Gutierrez, 62, the only Republican in the otherwise Democratic field.
Also on the ballot is Silke Bradford, 39, a Compton school district administrator with extensive experience overseeing charter schools on behalf of traditional school systems.
If no candidate wins a majority in March, the top two vote-getters in District 7 will face off in November. The Goldberg-versus-Duran race will be settled in March because there are only two candidates.


latimes--2020-02-18--SARS killed hundreds and then disappeared. Could this coronavirus die out?

The mysterious virus first emerged in the winter in eastern China , a never-before-seen pathogen that would rattle the world ’ s sense of safety and ignite a global panic .
In the months that followed , hundreds of people began seeking medical treatment because they were coughing , struggling to breathe and , in some cases , approaching death .
Scientists racing to quell the outbreak determined the source was a novel strain of coronavirus .
The World Health Organization called for immediate action to prevent the global health threat from sweeping across multiple continents and killing thousands .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome , more commonly known as SARS .
The SARS outbreak was the first deadly epidemic caused by a coronavirus .
“ It was a tremendous concern , ” said Alan Rowan , a public health professor at Florida State University involved in Florida ’ s response to the SARS outbreak .
“ It was a novel virus , and it was frightening.
” Much like the strain of coronavirus currently spreading across the world , the SARS virus prompted people to hoard face masks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarantines amid fears that the disease would become entrenched .
But eight months after SARS began circulating , it was contained .
The virus died out .
The stamping out of SARS has been lauded as one of the biggest recent public health victories , achieved with a strong and swift response and a dose of good luck .
But as cases of the new coronavirus swell , it appears less likely that history is going to repeat itself .
The virus ’ path suggests containment will be much more difficult than with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experts say .
On Feb. 9 , the death toll from COVID-19 surpassed that of SARS .
In the days since , it has climbed even higher .
After originating in China ’ s southeastern Guangdong province in late 2002 , SARS had spread by early spring to approximately 1,500 people .
Officials from the World Health Organization said SARS could become the most serious health threat to emerge in more than 20 years , with the exception of AIDS .
SARS was a pneumonia-like illness that killed about 1 in every 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estimated 1-in-50 mortality rate for COVID-19 infections .
“ There was enormous panic , ” said Lawrence Gostin , director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law .
The SARS outbreak , which reached 29 countries , was ultimately contained using traditional public health measures , such as testing , isolating patients and screening people at airports and other places where they might spread the virus , Gostin said .
The strategy is simple : If sick people can be stopped from infecting healthy people , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limiting the current outbreak with these tried-and-true public health strategies has proved harder now because of the sheer number of cases , Gostin said .
By the end of the SARS epidemic , 8,000 people had been infected .
Already , more than 73,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 , and some experts think undetected milder cases push the true tally even higher .
“ It ’ s affecting hundreds of thousands of people , and potentially a lot more going forward .
It ’ s really hard to contain once you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Gostin said .
“ This is a much bigger challenge than SARS.
” During SARS , remembered as the first pandemic of the 21st century , public health officials watched in horror as an interconnected , global society facilitated the spread of disease like never before .
A Canadian couple who visited Hong Kong started a SARS outbreak in Toronto that killed 24 people .
Those risks are even greater now .
Chinese people travel domestically and internationally at a much higher rate now than in 2003 , which makes containment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gostin said .
The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 an international health emergency and announced Friday that the virus reached a fifth continent , Africa , after a case was detected in Egypt .
Any dips in weekly case numbers should not be interpreted as signs of abatement , officials say .
“ This outbreak could still go in any direction , ” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference last week .
Officials know how fickle these viruses can be .
The SARS response benefited from “ good fortune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. David Heymann , who led the World Health Organization ’ s infectious disease unit during the SARS pandemic , wrote in a 2004 paper evaluating the international response to the disease .
Officials were lucky that SARS never popped up in developing countries with less sophisticated healthcare systems that would have struggled to contain the illness , he wrote .
The virus was also easier to stop because it turned out to have relatively low transmissibility , he wrote .
“ Its rapid containment is one of the biggest success stories in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Heymann wrote .
“ How narrow was the escape from an international health disaster ?
What tipped the scales ?
” Scientists will probably soon find out .
SARS and COVID-19 are like cousins , sharing 70 % of their genetic material .
Both are coronaviruses , a family of viruses that before 2003 had been known to cause only the common cold in humans .
While the SARS virus replicated deep in people ’ s lungs , probably contributing to the higher mortality rate , that also made it less likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Stanley Perlman , a microbiologist at the University of Iowa who studies coronaviruses .
The new coronavirus grows in people ’ s noses and airways , so it can be more easily spread through coughing and sneezing , like the flu , he said .
Though people with SARS probably weren ’ t contagious until they were very ill , that isn ’ t the case for COVID-19 , so it will be harder to catch people before they infect others , he said .
“ As soon as you start having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sore throat , that itchiness , that sneezing , then you ’ re contagious , ” Perlman said .
“ I don ’ t think it ’ s going to be like SARS and just go away.
” Even if COVID-19 doesn ’ t die out , it could wane so much that cases become extremely rare , or emerge only in the winter .
Viruses tend to have seasonality , appearing for only a few months a year , so some hope warmer weather will make the virus recede .
With this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sooner and the virus was sequenced much faster than with SARS .
Yet COVID-19 remains trickier to get ahead of because of the virus ’ traits , said Brittany Kmush , a public health researcher at Syracuse University ’ s Falk College .
Viruses spread most when they are very contagious and not that deadly , she said .
If a virus is very lethal , patients often die before they can transmit the illness to many other people .
COVID-19 ’ s low mortality rate compared with SARS , though a relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts , she said .
“ I think if SARS had similar characteristics to this coronavirus , it would still be circulating , ” Kmush said .

Children attend ballet lessons wearing masks to protect themselves from severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in Hong Kong, in 2003.
The mysterious virus first emerged in the winter in eastern China, a never-before-seen pathogen that would rattle the world’s sense of safety and ignite a global panic.
In the months that followed, hundreds of people began seeking medical treatment because they were coughing, struggling to breathe and, in some cases, approaching death.
Scientists racing to quell the outbreak determined the source was a novel strain of coronavirus. The World Health Organization called for immediate action to prevent the global health threat from sweeping across multiple continents and killing thousands.
Advertisement
It was early 2003, the beginning of the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome, more commonly known as SARS. The SARS outbreak was the first deadly epidemic caused by a coronavirus.
“It was a tremendous concern,” said Alan Rowan, a public health professor at Florida State University involved in Florida’s response to the SARS outbreak. “It was a novel virus, and it was frightening.”
Much like the strain of coronavirus currently spreading across the world, the SARS virus prompted people to hoard face masks, cancel trips to Asia and institute massive quarantines amid fears that the disease would become entrenched.
But eight months after SARS began circulating, it was contained. The virus died out.
The stamping out of SARS has been lauded as one of the biggest recent public health victories, achieved with a strong and swift response and a dose of good luck.
(Lorena Elebee / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
But as cases of the new coronavirus swell, it appears less likely that history is going to repeat itself. The virus’ path suggests containment will be much more difficult than with SARS and the harm much greater, experts say.
On Feb. 9, the death toll from COVID-19 surpassed that of SARS. In the days since, it has climbed even higher.
::
After originating in China’s southeastern Guangdong province in late 2002, SARS had spread by early spring to approximately 1,500 people.
Officials from the World Health Organization said SARS could become the most serious health threat to emerge in more than 20 years, with the exception of AIDS.
SARS was a pneumonia-like illness that killed about 1 in every 10 people struck, far higher than the estimated 1-in-50 mortality rate for COVID-19 infections.
“There was enormous panic,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law.
The SARS outbreak, which reached 29 countries, was ultimately contained using traditional public health measures, such as testing, isolating patients and screening people at airports and other places where they might spread the virus, Gostin said. The strategy is simple: If sick people can be stopped from infecting healthy people, the disease will eventually die off.
But limiting the current outbreak with these tried-and-true public health strategies has proved harder now because of the sheer number of cases, Gostin said.
By the end of the SARS epidemic, 8,000 people had been infected. Already, more than 73,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and some experts think undetected milder cases push the true tally even higher.
“It’s affecting hundreds of thousands of people, and potentially a lot more going forward. It’s really hard to contain once you’ve got that kind of saturation,” Gostin said. “This is a much bigger challenge than SARS.”
During SARS, remembered as the first pandemic of the 21st century, public health officials watched in horror as an interconnected, global society facilitated the spread of disease like never before. A Canadian couple who visited Hong Kong started a SARS outbreak in Toronto that killed 24 people.
Those risks are even greater now. Chinese people travel domestically and internationally at a much higher rate now than in 2003, which makes containment “that much more difficult,” Gostin said.
The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 an international health emergency and announced Friday that the virus reached a fifth continent, Africa, after a case was detected in Egypt. Any dips in weekly case numbers should not be interpreted as signs of abatement, officials say.
“This outbreak could still go in any direction,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference last week.
Officials know how fickle these viruses can be. The SARS response benefited from “good fortune as well as good science,” Dr. David Heymann, who led the World Health Organization’s infectious disease unit during the SARS pandemic, wrote in a 2004 paper evaluating the international response to the disease.
Officials were lucky that SARS never popped up in developing countries with less sophisticated healthcare systems that would have struggled to contain the illness, he wrote. The virus was also easier to stop because it turned out to have relatively low transmissibility, he wrote.
“Its rapid containment is one of the biggest success stories in public health in recent years,” Heymann wrote. “How narrow was the escape from an international health disaster? What tipped the scales?”
Scientists will probably soon find out. SARS and COVID-19 are like cousins, sharing 70% of their genetic material. Both are coronaviruses, a family of viruses that before 2003 had been known to cause only the common cold in humans.
While the SARS virus replicated deep in people’s lungs, probably contributing to the higher mortality rate, that also made it less likely to spread than the COVID-19 virus, said Dr. Stanley Perlman, a microbiologist at the University of Iowa who studies coronaviruses.
The new coronavirus grows in people’s noses and airways, so it can be more easily spread through coughing and sneezing, like the flu, he said. Though people with SARS probably weren’t contagious until they were very ill, that isn’t the case for COVID-19, so it will be harder to catch people before they infect others, he said.
“As soon as you start having very, very minor symptoms, that sore throat, that itchiness, that sneezing, then you’re contagious,” Perlman said. “I don’t think it’s going to be like SARS and just go away.”
Even if COVID-19 doesn’t die out, it could wane so much that cases become extremely rare, or emerge only in the winter. Viruses tend to have seasonality, appearing for only a few months a year, so some hope warmer weather will make the virus recede.
With this outbreak, international officials were notified much sooner and the virus was sequenced much faster than with SARS. Yet COVID-19 remains trickier to get ahead of because of the virus’ traits, said Brittany Kmush, a public health researcher at Syracuse University’s Falk College.
Viruses spread most when they are very contagious and not that deadly, she said. If a virus is very lethal, patients often die before they can transmit the illness to many other people.
COVID-19’s low mortality rate compared with SARS, though a relief to doctors, may actually hinder prevention efforts, she said.
“I think if SARS had similar characteristics to this coronavirus, it would still be circulating,” Kmush said.


latimes--2020-02-18--How Jackie Lacey's and George Gascón's time in office shapes the L.A. County D.A.'s race

Jackie Lacey and George Gascón spent more than three decades each working for and eventually running some of the nation ’ s largest law enforcement agencies .
Yet , their visions to lead the Los Angeles County district attorney ’ s office couldn ’ t be more different .
Lacey , the two-term incumbent who oversees the office she ’ s worked in since the late 1980s , has long tried to improve treatment for mentally ill defendants and tried to position herself as a reformer on other issues .
But her reputation is that of a punishment-first prosecutor .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ law enforcement community , Lacey ’ s tenure has been marked by a perceived hesitance to charge powerful figures and police officers who use deadly force , earning her the scorn of local activist groups .
Gascón , the former San Francisco district attorney and assistant chief of the L.A. Police Department , has emerged as one of the leaders of a movement to elect progressive prosecutors , aiming to lower crime while reducing the number of people affected by the criminal justice system .
His ideas have been hailed by some , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Francisco has led detractors to claim his election here would endanger public safety .
The Times reviewed crime statistics , filing rates and other data spanning Lacey and Gascón ’ s terms in Los Angeles and San Francisco .
The review highlights stark differences between the two but also upends some narratives painted by each candidate ’ s most ardent supporters .
Voters will choose between Lacey , Gascón and former public defender Rachel Rossi when they go to the polls March 3 .
Unless one of the three candidates receives more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the top-two finishers will go head-to-head in November .
With rock solid support from law enforcement and local elected officials , and Rossi ’ s potential to draw left-leaning voters away from Gascón , political observers think Lacey is the only candidate with a chance of claiming outright victory in March .
During Gascón ’ s tenure in San Francisco from 2011 to 2019 , property crime surged by 49 % , driven by an unprecedented increase in vehicle break-ins , records show .
Violent crime also increased 15 % in the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , violent crime rose at a much higher rate in Los Angeles .
Countywide , violent crime jumped 31 % from 2011 to 2018 , and 44 % in the city of Los Angeles over the last eight years , according to data reviewed by The Times .
While some of the citywide increase can be attributed to the LAPD ’ s failure to properly classify aggravated assaults , records show violent crime continued to trend upward even after the data problem was fixed .
Lacey dismissed the countywide data during a recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change in the way the California Department of Justice tracks sexual assault cases .
In a recent interview with The Times , she acknowledged she “ owned ” the crime hike in Los Angeles but also suggested responsibility for such issues lay with police officers , not prosecutors .
“ I think policing plays more of a role in those crime figures .
But your D.A .
sets your tone in the city ... your D.A .
should be outspoken about protecting victims and putting public safety first , ” she said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same .
Homicides have fallen citywide by 15 % under Lacey , according to LAPD data .
Killings dipped slightly during Gascón ’ s term in San Francisco as well , with the city seeing just 41 homicides in 2019 , its lowest total in a half-century .
Some have blamed Gascón ’ s reticence to prosecute low-level crimes for the surge in car break-ins on his watch .
During his two terms , San Francisco prosecutors filed criminal charges in only 40 % of misdemeanor cases presented by city police .
By @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on 86 % of all misdemeanors presented to them .
Records show Los Angeles prosecutors were also more likely to file charges in felony cases on Lacey ’ s watch , prosecuting 59 % of all cases presented by law enforcement during her eight years in office .
In San Francisco , Gascón ’ s office filed about half of all felony cases .
Gascón said the low misdemeanor filing rate should be considered an accomplishment .
When he took office , he said San Francisco prosecutors were wasting time and resources prosecuting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of mental illness , addiction and homelessness .
Gascón said he didn ’ t see the value in prosecuting minor offenses that would serve only to increase a defendant ’ s propensity toward crime .
“ Each segment of the homelessness problem is sometimes driven by the criminal justice system , ” he said .
“ By putting people even for short terms , in jail , when they are poor , they lose their jobs , the safety net is not there and then they lose their homes.
” Gascón and Rossi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homeless defendants for crimes that are solely the result of their situation — including public urination or violation of open container laws .
Of the three candidates , there is little question Gascón has the most outsize reputation as a criminal justice reformer .
In the span of eight years , he co-authored Proposition 47 , expunged thousands of marijuana convictions after California voters legalized cannabis , put San Francisco on a path to reduce the use of cash bail and instituted a program that allowed prosecutors to make charging decisions without knowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that track record shows he can strike the balance between enforcement and restorative justice that is necessary for a 21st century prosecutor .
“ I think it ’ s a role that requires a lot of nuance , that you have to be really thoughtful about the awesome power that you have because … I don ’ t want to sound corny here ... but it should be used because it ’ s for the greater good , and not just simply because you ’ re so keenly focused on a very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that of punishing , ” he said .
Lacey has often championed the rights of mentally ill defendants , launching an alternative sentencing program aimed at helping individuals find housing and treatment after completion of a 90-day probation period and another effort that allows defendants in some nonviolent misdemeanor cases to have their records expunged of a criminal charge , a boon for homeless defendants for whom a conviction can be a barrier to housing .
These defendants “ probably shouldn ’ t be in the criminal justice system , ” Lacey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offense ... is it drinking in a public park ?
To me , that doesn ’ t make sense for us to spend time putting them in the system.
” In the last year , 490 defendants “ entered into ” a signature mental health diversion program , according to a spokesman for the district attorney ’ s office .
Nearly 300 were granted diversion and 80 of those defendants have successfully completed the program .
Only 47 were outright rejected , records show .
Some critics contend that the bar for entry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high .
A report published by the Rand Corp. last month , however , estimated there are 3,368 people currently held in L.A. county jails who are struggling with mental illness and would be appropriate candidates for a diversionary or treatment program , rather than incarceration .
While she doesn ’ t share the lengthy resume of Lacey or Gascón , Rossi might prove attractive for voters looking for an outsider to take command of the district attorney ’ s office .
The career public defender played a role in drafting the First @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reform bill signed into law by President Trump in 2018 that reduced some mandatory minimum sentences and opened pathways to early release for lower-risk inmates .
Rossi has argued that her lack of a law enforcement background is an asset to her candidacy .
While her opponents talk about the need to protect crime victims , Rossi said her experience allows her to better identify those who need help rather than jail time .
“ When it comes to mental health diversion we know for a fact that there are people who can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... what we need to do is shift away from the old tough on crime equals reduced crime adage , and start looking at data , ” she said .
Protesters have chastised Lacey and Gascón for declining to prosecute officers in a number of controversial fatal shootings , including the death of Mario Woods in San Francisco and Brendon Glenn , an unarmed homeless man who was shot near Venice Beach .
In the latter case , Lacey went so far as to ignore the recommendation of then-Police Chief Charlie Beck to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sheriff ’ s deputy with manslaughter for an on-duty shooting in 2018 .
Rossi has called on the attorney general ’ s office to grant district attorneys the power to appoint independent investigators to review use-of-force cases , while Gascón has previously lobbied for laws that would change the rules governing when officers can use force .
Lacey , meanwhile , has often sided with law enforcement , arguing that initial public perceptions are often inaccurate .
“ When those cases come in and we really dig deep and look at them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than they first appear , ” she said Records show that San Francisco prosecutors filed nearly three dozen misconduct cases against law enforcement officers while Gascón was in office .
Six officers were charged with assault under color of authority and other officers faced charges for on-duty crimes including perjury , misuse of a government database and filing a false report .
In Los Angeles , the Justice Systems Integrity Division has filed roughly 90 cases against police officers since 2013 , records show .
Lacey ’ s office has secured convictions against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and sheriff ’ s deputies for on-duty sexual assault , and also pursued a number of probation officers for excessive use of pepper spray on juvenile detainees .
Several of those probation officers were recently acquitted .
Questions about Lacey ’ s handling of police shootings highlight a broader criticism of her time in office — the perception that she often lets politics get in the way of charging decisions .
She waited two years before charging Democratic donor Ed Buck in a spate of alleged drug-fueled sexual assaults , ultimately deferring to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most serious charges .
Lacey has also drawn fierce criticism for offering a plea deal to a city firefighter who nearly choked a man to death in a 2017 brawl .
The firefighter was represented by a defense attorney who served as Lacey ’ s 2012 campaign manager .
Those criticisms came to a head last month when Lacey filed sexual assault charges against former film mogul Harvey Weinstein on Jan. 3 , just one day before jury selection began in his Manhattan trial .
Some observers and law enforcement experts wondered whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political gain .
Of the two women ’ s allegations that led to charges against Weinstein , officials said the first one was presented to Los Angeles prosecutors in February 2018 , nearly two years before Lacey filed .
Lacey said the Weinstein case was filed as soon as it was ready , and noted her office needed time to corroborate each accuser ’ s story .
One of the two women lives abroad and her case was referred to Lacey ’ s staff from the Manhattan district attorney ’ s office , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Asked to respond to broader criticism of her office ’ s filing decisions , Lacey said she simply follows the law .
“ We file .
We do our job .
We prosecute whoever without holding a metaphoric scalp out there and saying look at the latest police officer we ’ re prosecuting , ” she said .
Gascón ’ s campaign was quick to attack Lacey over her decision-making in the Weinstein case , a move which shocked some women ’ s rights activists who allege he has his own checkered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prosecutions .
“ Under Gascón , the San Francisco district attorney ’ s office had an unbelievably high bar for what they believed in order to charge a rape case , ” said Jane Manning , a former sex crimes prosecutor who now serves as director of the Women ’ s Equal Justice Project .
“ I was in a room with George Gascón and heard him tell a rape survivor ‘ I believe you .
I believe that you were sexually assaulted , ’ and then tell her that he would not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to call a hearing in 2018 at which Gascón ’ s office , local police and hospital officials were all criticized heavily for their handling of assault cases , according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle .
Gascón said his office prosecuted sex assaults at a rate that is twice the national average for a district attorney ’ s office , though Lacey and Manning have disputed the accuracy of that number .
Given the ideological chasm between Lacey and her challengers — as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal justice reform efforts such as New York ’ s recently instituted bail law — some experts believe the primary could forecast just how serious voters are about rethinking the role of a prosecutor .
“ All eyes will be on L.A. to see whether there ’ s an appetite to push further or whether there ’ s gon na be a cooling off period .
I think that ’ s where we ’ re at this point .
There ’ s going to be major interest to see how far the voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Eugene O ’ Donnell , a former New York City prosecutor and police officer .
“ Without a doubt criminal justice reform will continue to happen , but there is some evidence that people are getting cold feet about the extent of it .
”

Jackie Lacey and George Gascón spent more than three decades each working for and eventually running some of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies.
Yet, their visions to lead the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office couldn’t be more different.
Lacey, the two-term incumbent who oversees the office she’s worked in since the late 1980s, has long tried to improve treatment for mentally ill defendants and tried to position herself as a reformer on other issues. But her reputation is that of a punishment-first prosecutor. While she’s beloved by the law enforcement community, Lacey’s tenure has been marked by a perceived hesitance to charge powerful figures and police officers who use deadly force, earning her the scorn of local activist groups.
Advertisement
Gascón, the former San Francisco district attorney and assistant chief of the L.A. Police Department, has emerged as one of the leaders of a movement to elect progressive prosecutors, aiming to lower crime while reducing the number of people affected by the criminal justice system. His ideas have been hailed by some, but a surge of property crimes in San Francisco has led detractors to claim his election here would endanger public safety.
The Times reviewed crime statistics, filing rates and other data spanning Lacey and Gascón’s terms in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The review highlights stark differences between the two but also upends some narratives painted by each candidate’s most ardent supporters.
Voters will choose between Lacey, Gascón and former public defender Rachel Rossi when they go to the polls March 3. Unless one of the three candidates receives more than 50% of the vote, the top-two finishers will go head-to-head in November. With rock solid support from law enforcement and local elected officials, and Rossi’s potential to draw left-leaning voters away from Gascón, political observers think Lacey is the only candidate with a chance of claiming outright victory in March.
Surge in crime
During Gascón’s tenure in San Francisco from 2011 to 2019, property crime surged by 49%, driven by an unprecedented increase in vehicle break-ins, records show. Violent crime also increased 15% in the same time frame.
Under Lacey, however, violent crime rose at a much higher rate in Los Angeles. Countywide, violent crime jumped 31% from 2011 to 2018, and 44% in the city of Los Angeles over the last eight years, according to data reviewed by The Times. While some of the citywide increase can be attributed to the LAPD’s failure to properly classify aggravated assaults, records show violent crime continued to trend upward even after the data problem was fixed.
Lacey dismissed the countywide data during a recent debate, blaming the increase on a change in the way the California Department of Justice tracks sexual assault cases. In a recent interview with The Times, she acknowledged she “owned” the crime hike in Los Angeles but also suggested responsibility for such issues lay with police officers, not prosecutors.
“I think policing plays more of a role in those crime figures. But your D.A. sets your tone in the city ... your D.A. should be outspoken about protecting victims and putting public safety first,” she said, implying Gascón had failed to do the same.
Advertisement
Homicides have fallen citywide by 15% under Lacey, according to LAPD data. Killings dipped slightly during Gascón’s term in San Francisco as well, with the city seeing just 41 homicides in 2019, its lowest total in a half-century.
Some have blamed Gascón’s reticence to prosecute low-level crimes for the surge in car break-ins on his watch. During his two terms, San Francisco prosecutors filed criminal charges in only 40% of misdemeanor cases presented by city police.
By comparison, Lacey’s office filed on 86% of all misdemeanors presented to them. Records show Los Angeles prosecutors were also more likely to file charges in felony cases on Lacey’s watch, prosecuting 59% of all cases presented by law enforcement during her eight years in office. In San Francisco, Gascón’s office filed about half of all felony cases.
Gascón said the low misdemeanor filing rate should be considered an accomplishment. When he took office, he said San Francisco prosecutors were wasting time and resources prosecuting nonviolent offenders who were experiencing some combination of mental illness, addiction and homelessness. Gascón said he didn’t see the value in prosecuting minor offenses that would serve only to increase a defendant’s propensity toward crime.
“Each segment of the homelessness problem is sometimes driven by the criminal justice system,” he said. “By putting people even for short terms, in jail, when they are poor, they lose their jobs, the safety net is not there and then they lose their homes.”
Gascón and Rossi have both called for ending prosecutions of homeless defendants for crimes that are solely the result of their situation — including public urination or violation of open container laws.
The true progressive?
Of the three candidates, there is little question Gascón has the most outsize reputation as a criminal justice reformer. In the span of eight years, he co-authored Proposition 47, expunged thousands of marijuana convictions after California voters legalized cannabis, put San Francisco on a path to reduce the use of cash bail and instituted a program that allowed prosecutors to make charging decisions without knowing the race of a suspect.
Gascón said that track record shows he can strike the balance between enforcement and restorative justice that is necessary for a 21st century prosecutor.
“I think it’s a role that requires a lot of nuance, that you have to be really thoughtful about the awesome power that you have because … I don’t want to sound corny here ... but it should be used because it’s for the greater good, and not just simply because you’re so keenly focused on a very narrow part of your work, which is that of punishing,” he said.
Lacey has often championed the rights of mentally ill defendants, launching an alternative sentencing program aimed at helping individuals find housing and treatment after completion of a 90-day probation period and another effort that allows defendants in some nonviolent misdemeanor cases to have their records expunged of a criminal charge, a boon for homeless defendants for whom a conviction can be a barrier to housing.
These defendants “probably shouldn’t be in the criminal justice system,” Lacey said. “Is it a first-time offense ... is it drinking in a public park? To me, that doesn’t make sense for us to spend time putting them in the system.”
In the last year, 490 defendants “entered into” a signature mental health diversion program, according to a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. Nearly 300 were granted diversion and 80 of those defendants have successfully completed the program. Only 47 were outright rejected, records show.
Some critics contend that the bar for entry into Lacey’s programs is too high. A report published by the Rand Corp. last month, however, estimated there are 3,368 people currently held in L.A. county jails who are struggling with mental illness and would be appropriate candidates for a diversionary or treatment program, rather than incarceration.
While she doesn’t share the lengthy resume of Lacey or Gascón, Rossi might prove attractive for voters looking for an outsider to take command of the district attorney’s office. The career public defender played a role in drafting the First Step Act, a bipartisan federal prison reform bill signed into law by President Trump in 2018 that reduced some mandatory minimum sentences and opened pathways to early release for lower-risk inmates.
Rossi has argued that her lack of a law enforcement background is an asset to her candidacy. While her opponents talk about the need to protect crime victims, Rossi said her experience allows her to better identify those who need help rather than jail time.
“When it comes to mental health diversion we know for a fact that there are people who can succeed in diversion who are currently incarcerated ... what we need to do is shift away from the old tough on crime equals reduced crime adage, and start looking at data,” she said.
Use-of-force oversight
Protesters have chastised Lacey and Gascón for declining to prosecute officers in a number of controversial fatal shootings, including the death of Mario Woods in San Francisco and Brendon Glenn, an unarmed homeless man who was shot near Venice Beach. In the latter case, Lacey went so far as to ignore the recommendation of then-Police Chief Charlie Beck to prosecute the officer. She did charge a sheriff’s deputy with manslaughter for an on-duty shooting in 2018.
Rossi has called on the attorney general’s office to grant district attorneys the power to appoint independent investigators to review use-of-force cases, while Gascón has previously lobbied for laws that would change the rules governing when officers can use force. Lacey, meanwhile, has often sided with law enforcement, arguing that initial public perceptions are often inaccurate.
“When those cases come in and we really dig deep and look at them they’re a lot more challenging than they first appear,” she said
Records show that San Francisco prosecutors filed nearly three dozen misconduct cases against law enforcement officers while Gascón was in office. Six officers were charged with assault under color of authority and other officers faced charges for on-duty crimes including perjury, misuse of a government database and filing a false report.
In Los Angeles, the Justice Systems Integrity Division has filed roughly 90 cases against police officers since 2013, records show. Lacey’s office has secured convictions against a number of Los Angeles police officers and sheriff’s deputies for on-duty sexual assault, and also pursued a number of probation officers for excessive use of pepper spray on juvenile detainees. Several of those probation officers were recently acquitted.
Decisions called into question
Questions about Lacey’s handling of police shootings highlight a broader criticism of her time in office — the perception that she often lets politics get in the way of charging decisions.
She waited two years before charging Democratic donor Ed Buck in a spate of alleged drug-fueled sexual assaults, ultimately deferring to federal prosecutors to pursue Buck on the most serious charges. Lacey has also drawn fierce criticism for offering a plea deal to a city firefighter who nearly choked a man to death in a 2017 brawl. The firefighter was represented by a defense attorney who served as Lacey’s 2012 campaign manager.
Those criticisms came to a head last month when Lacey filed sexual assault charges against former film mogul Harvey Weinstein on Jan. 3, just one day before jury selection began in his Manhattan trial. Some observers and law enforcement experts wondered whether Lacey had timed the filing for maximum political gain. Of the two women’s allegations that led to charges against Weinstein, officials said the first one was presented to Los Angeles prosecutors in February 2018, nearly two years before Lacey filed.
Lacey said the Weinstein case was filed as soon as it was ready, and noted her office needed time to corroborate each accuser’s story. One of the two women lives abroad and her case was referred to Lacey’s staff from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, further complicating the issue, she said. Asked to respond to broader criticism of her office’s filing decisions, Lacey said she simply follows the law.
“We file. We do our job. We prosecute whoever without holding a metaphoric scalp out there and saying look at the latest police officer we’re prosecuting,” she said.
Gascón’s campaign was quick to attack Lacey over her decision-making in the Weinstein case, a move which shocked some women’s rights activists who allege he has his own checkered past when it comes to sexual assault prosecutions.
“Under Gascón, the San Francisco district attorney’s office had an unbelievably high bar for what they believed in order to charge a rape case,” said Jane Manning, a former sex crimes prosecutor who now serves as director of the Women’s Equal Justice Project. “I was in a room with George Gascón and heard him tell a rape survivor ‘I believe you. I believe that you were sexually assaulted,’ and then tell her that he would not charge her case.”
The controversy led the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to call a hearing in 2018 at which Gascón’s office, local police and hospital officials were all criticized heavily for their handling of assault cases, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Gascón said his office prosecuted sex assaults at a rate that is twice the national average for a district attorney’s office, though Lacey and Manning have disputed the accuracy of that number.
Given the ideological chasm between Lacey and her challengers — as well as growing pushback against other lauded national criminal justice reform efforts such as New York’s recently instituted bail law — some experts believe the primary could forecast just how serious voters are about rethinking the role of a prosecutor.
“All eyes will be on L.A. to see whether there’s an appetite to push further or whether there’s gonna be a cooling off period. I think that’s where we’re at this point. There’s going to be major interest to see how far the voters are willing to go on this,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a former New York City prosecutor and police officer. “Without a doubt criminal justice reform will continue to happen, but there is some evidence that people are getting cold feet about the extent of it.”


latimes--2020-02-17--Slain Hollywood therapist's chance encounter with ex-boyfriend might have led to killing

In the years after she left a toxic relationship with a freelance photographer , Amie Harwick thrived .
She earned a doctorate in human sexuality , built a busy therapy practice , authored an erotic manual for women and enjoyed a high-profile romance with comedian Drew Carey .
Then last month , she ran into the ex-boyfriend , Gareth Pursehouse , at a professional event that she was attending and he was assigned to photograph .
“ It was the absolute worst possible luck , ” said Beverly Hills sex therapist Hernando Chaves , a close friend who was with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encounter , Chaves said , seemed to “ reignite his obsessive preoccupation with her.
” Harwick , 38 , was fatally attacked in her Hollywood Hills residence early Saturday morning , and authorities have arrested Pursehouse , a 41-year-old from Playa del Rey , on suspicion of murder .
According to his LinkedIn account , Pursehouse has worked as a software developer and a photographer .
Friends said Harwick had largely considered the relationship an artifact of the past until the January meeting .
“ She said that when he saw her , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
He made a scene , ” said friend Vera Duffy , who interviewed Harwick for a podcast three days later and talked with her off-microphone about the incident .
Duffy recalled Harwick saying that Pursehouse blamed her for ruining his life .
“ She was very scared .
... She said , ‘ What am I going to do ?
I let my roommate know , I have home security , ’ ” Duffy recalled .
Police were summoned to Harwick ’ s residence early Saturday morning after reports of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and mortally wounded under a third-floor balcony with injuries consistent with a fall .
Her roommate , who met arriving officers in the street , said Harwick was attacked in the home and he had narrowly escaped by jumping a wall , authorities said .
LAPD investigators searching for clues in Harwick ’ s home found “ possible evidence of a struggle in the upstairs as well as forced entry to the residence , ” the department said in a statement .
Pursehouse is being held in lieu of $ 2 million bail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s unclear how he would have known where Harwick was living .
The pair had shared a home for a couple of years a decade ago at another location , friends said .
Their relationship deteriorated and Harwick twice applied for restraining orders against him , according to court records .
She got a temporary restraining order in 2011 but apparently did not attend a follow-up hearing at the Superior Court branch in Van Nuys and the order was dismissed “ for lack of prosecution , ” an electronic docket shows .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the same courthouse and got another temporary restraining order .
In an April 2012 hearing on whether to extend the protective order , she and Pursehouse both gave evidence and the judge granted her request for protection , according to the docket .
What led her to seek the restraining orders and the terms of those orders are not disclosed in the dockets , and the files were not available Monday because of the Presidents Day holiday .
In Harwick ’ s circle of patients , friends and colleagues , there was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Several people interviewed used the present tense when speaking about her compassion and empathy .
Drew Carey described himself in a statement as “ overcome with grief.
” “ Amie and I had a love that people are lucky to have once in a lifetime , ” he said .
The pair dated for two years and were engaged before breaking up in 2018 .
“ She was a positive force in the world , a tireless and unapologetic champion for women , and passionate about her work as a therapist.
” In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Harwick wrote about sexuality for several magazines and authored the 2014 book “ The New Sex Bible for Women.
” Before becoming a therapist , she had worked as a performance artist and “ fire eater.
” That work gave her empathy for many outsiders in Hollywood , including adult film actors and sex workers , friends said .
She volunteered with the nonprofit Pineapple Support Services , which provides low-cost mental health services to those employed in the adult film industry , seeing clients one-on-one and running a weekly support group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help society , and she had so many great ideas to reach out to underserved communities , ” said L.A. sex therapist Moushumi Ghose , who helped train Harwick .
Among Harwick ’ s specialties was helping women recognize abusive relationships and offering support as they removed themselves .
Longtime friend Chaves said the way she died only emphasized how difficult that work was .
“ She did everything she could do to protect herself , and this person still sought her out and was violent toward her , ” Chaves said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope are going to see — not the sensationalism of her dating Drew Carey or being a ‘ Hollywood sex therapist ’ ... but that our system is not protecting women.
” Interviewed last month on the podcast “ Datey Ladies ” hosted by Duffy and her sister , Barbara Ann , Harwick said she tried to provide the general public with a “ Cliffs Notes ” version of everything she had learned about relationships .
“ One of the scariest things about this , ” Barbara Ann Duffy said , “ is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of women , and that seemed only to be a challenge to that person to hurt her .
”

Amie Harwick at the Rock to Recovery benefit at the Fonda Theatre in 2016.
In the years after she left a toxic relationship with a freelance photographer, Amie Harwick thrived. She earned a doctorate in human sexuality, built a busy therapy practice, authored an erotic manual for women and enjoyed a high-profile romance with comedian Drew Carey.
Then last month, she ran into the ex-boyfriend, Gareth Pursehouse, at a professional event that she was attending and he was assigned to photograph.
“It was the absolute worst possible luck,” said Beverly Hills sex therapist Hernando Chaves, a close friend who was with Harwick at the event. The chance encounter, Chaves said, seemed to “reignite his obsessive preoccupation with her.”
Harwick, 38, was fatally attacked in her Hollywood Hills residence early Saturday morning, and authorities have arrested Pursehouse, a 41-year-old from Playa del Rey, on suspicion of murder. According to his LinkedIn account, Pursehouse has worked as a software developer and a photographer.
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Friends said Harwick had largely considered the relationship an artifact of the past until the January meeting.
“She said that when he saw her, he just went ballistic. He lost it. He made a scene,” said friend Vera Duffy, who interviewed Harwick for a podcast three days later and talked with her off-microphone about the incident.
Duffy recalled Harwick saying that Pursehouse blamed her for ruining his life.
“She was very scared. ... She said, ‘What am I going to do? I let my roommate know, I have home security,’” Duffy recalled.
Police were summoned to Harwick’s residence early Saturday morning after reports of a woman screaming. Officers found her unconscious and mortally wounded under a third-floor balcony with injuries consistent with a fall. Her roommate, who met arriving officers in the street, said Harwick was attacked in the home and he had narrowly escaped by jumping a wall, authorities said.
Amie Harwick and comedian Drew Carey. (Michael Bezjian / WireImage)
LAPD investigators searching for clues in Harwick’s home found “possible evidence of a struggle in the upstairs as well as forced entry to the residence,” the department said in a statement.
Pursehouse is being held in lieu of $2 million bail, according to jail records.
It’s unclear how he would have known where Harwick was living. The pair had shared a home for a couple of years a decade ago at another location, friends said. Their relationship deteriorated and Harwick twice applied for restraining orders against him, according to court records.
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She got a temporary restraining order in 2011 but apparently did not attend a follow-up hearing at the Superior Court branch in Van Nuys and the order was dismissed “for lack of prosecution,” an electronic docket shows.
Nine months later, Harwick went back to the same courthouse and got another temporary restraining order. In an April 2012 hearing on whether to extend the protective order, she and Pursehouse both gave evidence and the judge granted her request for protection, according to the docket.
What led her to seek the restraining orders and the terms of those orders are not disclosed in the dockets, and the files were not available Monday because of the Presidents Day holiday.
In Harwick’s circle of patients, friends and colleagues, there was a sense of shock and disbelief. Several people interviewed used the present tense when speaking about her compassion and empathy.
Drew Carey described himself in a statement as “overcome with grief.”
“Amie and I had a love that people are lucky to have once in a lifetime,” he said. The pair dated for two years and were engaged before breaking up in 2018. “She was a positive force in the world, a tireless and unapologetic champion for women, and passionate about her work as a therapist.”
In addition to her West Hollywood private practice, Harwick wrote about sexuality for several magazines and authored the 2014 book “The New Sex Bible for Women.”
Before becoming a therapist, she had worked as a performance artist and “fire eater.” That work gave her empathy for many outsiders in Hollywood, including adult film actors and sex workers, friends said.
She volunteered with the nonprofit Pineapple Support Services, which provides low-cost mental health services to those employed in the adult film industry, seeing clients one-on-one and running a weekly support group.
“She really, really wanted to help society, and she had so many great ideas to reach out to underserved communities,” said L.A. sex therapist Moushumi Ghose, who helped train Harwick.
Among Harwick’s specialties was helping women recognize abusive relationships and offering support as they removed themselves. Longtime friend Chaves said the way she died only emphasized how difficult that work was.
“She did everything she could do to protect herself, and this person still sought her out and was violent toward her,” Chaves said. “That is what people I hope are going to see — not the sensationalism of her dating Drew Carey or being a ‘Hollywood sex therapist’... but that our system is not protecting women.”
Interviewed last month on the podcast “Datey Ladies” hosted by Duffy and her sister, Barbara Ann, Harwick said she tried to provide the general public with a “Cliffs Notes” version of everything she had learned about relationships.
“One of the scariest things about this,” Barbara Ann Duffy said, “is that Amie had healthier boundaries than a lot of women, and that seemed only to be a challenge to that person to hurt her.”