KIEM-TV -With the battle between bidders for the Jefferson school property heating up, College of the Redwoods pulls out its offer. The City of Eureka wrote a letter to the College and Eureka City Schools saying they might have to face a lawsuit if they go ahead with this deal.
THE COAST NEEDS YOUR HELP
The Coast is under attack and this time, if the proposal to require the Coastal Commission to pay for all legal services previously supplied by the Attorney General is approved, it will leave the Commission with very limited ability to defend itself in a lawsuit or enforce the Coastal Act.
On Tuesday, March 9th, from 7:00 to 9:00 the City of Eureka will be hosting a community workshop in the City Hall Council Chambers to provide information to the public related to the draft medical cannabis ordinance. The ordinance is designed to regulate the cultivation of medical cannabis and formation of medical cannabis collectives in the City of Eureka. The ordinance is not intended to interfere with a patient’s right to cannabis marijuana, as provided for in California Health & Safety Code Section 11362, nor does it criminalize medical cannabis possession or cultivation by specifically defined classifications of persons, pursuant to state law.
Local fans of the Pacific Legal Foundation are silent on the group’s recent loss to the California Coastal Commission.
Former Humboldt County prosecutor Allison Jackson kicked off her campaign for district attorney on Saturday with a pledge to be accountable to the people and a promise to prosecute criminals to the full extent of the law.
The following items were compiled from reports prepared by law enforcement agencies:
Willits Police Department
February 22
Leland Cheyenne Bean Jr., 32, of Willits, was arrested on suspicion of robbery, battery, issuing a terrorist threat and child endangerment.
[Guest post by Carl Young]
It’s finally official. Thirty-five years after the war ended in Vietnam, a welcoming home for the Veterans of the Vietnam war has been established.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill last September, AB 717, which calls for an annual “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” on March 30. The Board of Supervisors, and local cities will be doing resolutions supporting it. Sadly, local veterans are deeply split on the issue of even having a day for Vietnam veterans.
Our country was deeply divided during the Vietnam war, and at times some people were hostile to the returning veterans. Those memories still haunt some Vietnam veterans. The damage done to our fellow Vietnam veterans, and their families, is incalculable. Many will never see their “Welcome Home,” because they prematurely died due to aliments associated with their military service.
I support the establishment of this long overdue day of remembrance, in which 58,000 U.S. troops died and more than 300,000 were wounded. These statistics don’t include the number of suicides, mental health, destroyed families and the illnesses directed associated with our service.
Additionally there is the possibility that many other birth defects and aliments suffered by our children are because of their parents exposure to Agent Orange. The Department of Veterans Affairs only recognizes a few birth defects like Spina bifida.
I think Daniel L. Lawrence, President, of the Humboldt Memorial Chapter 781, Vietnam Veterans of America summed it up well, “We are the only defenders of freedom in this country to be vilified, berated and shunned by our own people. If this resolution brings peace to many Vietnam vets then I am all for it. It’s said that time heals all wounds. I guess not enough time has passed for me to heal my wounds. I am pleased that our country has chosen to not place the blame for this current war on those who doing the fighting. instead placing the blame where it belongs on our so called leadership. For all the problems these new veterans will face, being shunned by their own people will not be one of them.”
Maybe, California’s enactment of a special day to recognize Vietnam veterans will encourage other states to follow, someday making it a national holiday. I also support the idea of establishing a similar day for the forgotten veterans of the Korean War. It’s the very least we can do for those who served so faithfully.
I encourage everyone to attend the reading of the Resolutions with the following government agencies: Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, on March 23, at 9:00 a.m; the Fortuna City Council meeting on March 15 at 6:00 p.m.; Ferndale (already presented March 4th); Rio Dell March 16th at 6:30Pm and the City of Arcata March 17, at 6:00 p.m. As far as I know, there aren’t any other plans locally to recognize this special day for Vietnam veterans on March 30.
Lastly, I would like to thank the folks at the Eureka VA and Mental Health Clinics and our local Vet Center for the excellent care they provide. I’m hopeful the VA can further support local medical and mental health providers and our veterans through the “fee basis” program, and the establishment of local VA speciality clinics. The professionalism of the staff has been remarkable, as well as the coordination of care with local providers.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is in the process of applying for grant funding through the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle (OHMV) program.
Funds from the OHMV grant support the efforts of Sheriff’s Office’s Beach Deputies whose duties include enforcement of state laws, federal regulations, and Humboldt County Beach Ordinances. Beach Deputies also assist with visitor safety and search and rescue efforts. Additionally, the Beach Deputies provide law enforcement information and education regarding environmental issues and conservation concerns about the county’s beaches and dunes. The Beach Deputies work closely with volunteer organizations that are concerned with off-highway vehicle usage.
Beginning yesterday, Wednesday, March 3, 2010 through Thursday, April 1, 2010, a draft of the grant application will be available for viewing and public comment at www.ohv.parks.ca.gov. From that website, the public will be directed to the Grants/On-Line Grant Application (OLGA) public review feature for instructions on how to submit their comments. Public comment can also be mailed to:
Lt. Steve Knight
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office
826 4th Street
Eureka, CA 95501
The second trial of a Fortuna teacher accused of having unlawful sexual intercourse with — and molesting or annoying — a minor is scheduled to start today.
Following the untimely death of her enlisted son, Ukiah resident Debe DiGrazia is hoping for nothing short of an act of Congress to help other families in her situation.
Newspapers in state Sen. Patricia Wiggins’ district are calling for her resignation, as the senator continues to deal with an unspecified health issue and concerns about the lawmakers’ ability to represent her constituents remain.
Where and how people ask for change in Arcata is back up for debate Wednesday as the City Council takes a look at the revised unlawful panhandling ordinance.
John Silver discusses the political and economic policies of former President Ronald Reagan in a new certificate program at City College of San Francisco that trains community health workers to help former inmates navigate the medical system. Many class members are ex-inmates themselves or relatives of ex-inmates.
SAN FRANCISCO – About two dozen City College of San Francisco students leaned forward in their wobbly desks on a recent evening as they debated personal responsibility, the role of correctional officers and the fear of going to the doctor.
Many of these students are former inmates and family members of inmates. The course they’re taking is part of the country’s first certificate program for post-prison health workers, which trains participants how to handle ex-inmates’ chronic health problems and negotiate the barriers that hinder access to care.
“Can you manage your life outside an institution without someone managing it for you?” asked Clifton Martin, a City College student who spent 20 years in and out of prison on drug and robbery charges and now works for a drug counseling organization.
The first group of students will graduate this spring. Other schools around the country are watching the program as a possible model for shoring up county-led indigent care programs and saving public health dollars by catching diseases early, getting parolees into primary care and reducing the number of emergency room visits.
“People may not have gotten good health care or health education in prison,” said Tim Berthold, chairman of the health education department. “As a consequence, … they might be particularly reluctant to access health services on the outside.”
About 120,000 California prison inmates are now paroled every year. Over the next two years, the state may also reduce the overall prison population by more than 40,000 inmates to comply with a federal court order.
Because of IV drug use, unprotected sex and tattooing, rates of HIV infection are nine times higher among prison inmates than the general public. Hepatitis C rates are at least 10 times higher, according to a 2009 report from the Rand Corp.
With an aging prison population, chronic diseases such as advanced diabetes, hypertension, asthma and cancer are all common.
“Incarceration is pathogenic,” said Donna Willmott, who teaches the class on the health effects of incarceration. “It creates ill health, and it complicates ill health people already have.”
Willmott’s students learn how to manage these diseases. But they focus even more on the challenges of delivering care to ex-inmates.
“There’s an assumption that they will not be treated well or with dignity,” said Berthold. “There’s real discrimination, and the fear that it will happen everywhere.”
So many problems were detailed in a lawsuit against California’s prison health care system – insufficient facilities, long wait times, even deaths – that a federal receiver has been appointed to oversee it.
Because many of the students were once incarcerated themselves or have family members in and out of prison, they know firsthand what their future patients have experienced and the obstacles they face when they get out.
“Incarceration strips you of responsibility for yourself,” Martin said during Willmott’s class. “You get three meals a day, your laundry is done for you, even your medication is brought to you.”
Hands flew up around the circle of desks during the discussion. You can’t relinquish responsibility like that, says Johnny. What about kids who grew up in jail and never learned responsibility? asks Desiree. You get broken down, Jessie says. People go in fine, but they come out with post-traumatic stress disorder, Norell says.
“I was in the best shape of my life when I was in the penitentiary,” student Kevin Mitchell said. “I spent days laying on my bunk dreaming what to do when I got out. But when I hit the streets, it’s a whole different ballgame.”
Willmott helps put the personal stories into context.
“What is the purpose of prison and jails? Why is there this instrument for social control?” she asked. “How does that impact people’s health?”
The public’s health is also at issue. When chronic diseases go untreated, people can land in emergency rooms with advanced illnesses that are expensive to treat, with taxpayers often picking up the tab.
Even if prescriptions are called in to community pharmacies, parolees rarely pick them up, according to a University of Texas study. Co-author David Paar says parolees don’t have practice navigating the health care system.
“If you call to verify an appointment, you get 10 minutes of phone tree. If you’re like me, you get irritated and you hang on,” Paar said. “A lot of those patients don’t have those life skills, so they call their crack dealer who lives down the street and get their crack.”
That’s a scenario that the City College program is trying to prevent by training workers to coach parolees through difficult times. They learn how to walk patients through the health care system and help them find housing, employment, and mental health and substance abuse services.
Administrators expect this year’s graduates to find jobs at nonprofits, county public health departments, and specialty centers like San Francisco’s Transitions clinic, which treats ex-inmates only and offers internships to the program’s students.
“They trust me because they know I’ve been there, done that,” said Juanita Alvarado, a former inmate who’s now a community health worker at Transitions.
Funding for such training programs is hard to come by, and City College is already scrambling to cover next year’s costs. But advocates believe that such care for parolees will save money in the long run by controlling disease, preventing emergency room overuse and reducing recidivism.
And, at least for some former prisoners, the City College program provides an opportunity for them to find work that leverages their incarceration history, instead of forcing them to hide it or make excuses for it.
“They come to community college with the goal of independence, the goal of standing on their own two feet,” Berthold said. “Many have a mission to give back to their communities, where some of their individual strengths can really be assets in the public health field.”
Hermann Bormann, majoring in social work, is part of the first-in-the-nation program. Its aims include providing jobs for former inmates and saving taxpayer dollars by reducing emergency room visits.
As California continues to plummet toward complete financial collapse, lawmakers in the State Assembly this month put aside a slew of important issues and devoted precious legislative time to pass a resolution that would make the first week of March “cuss-free” in the Golden State.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, right, embraces Reedley Police Chief Steve Wright during an emotional news conference Friday after a deadly gunbattle east of Fresno a day earlier with a suspect that left a Fresno County deputy dead and a Reedley officer critically injured. The gunman took his own life.
Ricky Liles was ready to kill when sheriff’s deputies knocked on his door in the tiny town of Minkler east of Fresno.
The 51-year-old Liles, suspected in a series of arson fires and shootings, had told his wife several times in recent months that he intended to shoot officers and then take his own life rather than go to prison.
Officials provided details Friday about the gunbattle during which Liles killed one deputy, critically injured a police officer and wounded another deputy before killing himself.
Investigators attempting to serve a search warrant at Liles’ mobile home Thursday morning were met by a barrage of gunfire from Liles. Then, according to police, Liles told his wife that he was sorry for what he was about to do. He told her that he loved her. She told him she loved him.
Diane Liles took cover in the bedroom and lay face-down on the floor. She later told police she didn’t try to stop her husband because she didn’t think he would listen.
As at least 150 officers from nearly a dozen agencies soon surrounded the mobile home off Highway 180 about six miles east of Sanger, Ricky Liles holed up in the living room. He had stashed away six handguns and four rifles, police said.
Liles used two high-powered rifles to shoot and kill Fresno County Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier, 49, and wound Deputy Mark Harris, 48.
About 30 minutes later, in another hail of gunfire, Liles also shot Reedley Police Officer Javier Bejar in the head from a distance of about 80 yards, police said. Bejar, 28, had taken cover behind a police car when he was shot. He is not expected to survive.
Over about two hours, some two dozen officers fired about 400 bullets into the home, police said. But in the end, police say, Liles ended his own life. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said his body was found face-down in the bedroom with a handgun next to him, with a single bullet to the head.
His wife – to the surprise of many officers – walked out of the mobile home alive. She later told police that Liles had been taking several medications, including Prozac.
“She said he had become increasingly more paranoid as of late and would frequently look outside the window to see who was outside,” Dyer said.
Fresno police say they are investigating whether Liles had mental health problems.
Dyer said there was no indication that Diane Liles, who had been married to Ricky Liles for three years, assisted her husband in the attack on officers. He said she will not face criminal charges.
Authorities had come to Liles’ mobile home Thursday morning with a search warrant because he was suspected of setting a series of fires in the Minkler area and was also a suspect in half a dozen recent shootings, including one that injured a neighbor.
Reedley Police Chief Steve Wright said Friday that Bejar was the first officer that the department has lost in its 100-year history. Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said her department is reeling from Wahlenmaier’s death.
A photo of Ricky Liles, who officials say opened fire on Fresno-area law enforcement officials serving a warrant at his home, was released Friday. Liles planned the attack, his wife said.
