VA Loma Linda’s use of involuntary psychiatric holds violates veterans’ rights, watchdogs allege

• October 8, 2023

The VA Loma Linda Health Care System is violating the civil liberties of some veterans seeking voluntary mental health evaluations by placing them on involuntary psychiatric holds as a precondition of their transportation to a hospital or treatment facility, according to patient advocacy organizations.

The policy, advocates say, effectively prevents the veterans from refusing treatment as well as passing background checks to legally purchase and own firearms.

VA Loma Linda Associate Chief of Staff Michael J. Potoczniak outlined the directive in an Aug. 28, 2022, email to supervisors obtained by the Southern California News Group.

In the email, Potoczniak said veterans arriving at the Ambulatory Care Center for voluntary hospitalization should be placed on a so-called 5150 hold to ensure they are transported safely by ambulance to the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital Emergency Department — just more than 2 miles away — for evaluation.

“If you are transporting a veteran without a hold either using VA staffed transportation methods or ambulance, the veteran can request to leave at any moment,” Potoczniak wrote. “If you would be concerned about the patient if they did not arrive at the agreed upon location (the Emergency Department or a community psychiatric facility), the safest method is to place the hold for the purposes of transport.”

There is an opportunity for the 5150 hold — named after a section of the state Welfare and Institutions Code — to be dropped at the admitting location, Potoczniak said.

Policy draws criticism

The policy has stunned VA Loma Linda employees, who worry about the ethical and legal implications of imposing 5150 holds on individuals volunteering for treatment.

“People are dismayed and shocked that the 5150 is being misused in such a manner,” said a VA Loma Linda mental health provider who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to discuss the issue. “A 5150 can’t be used as a transportation voucher.”

It’s illegal to use a 5150 for anything other than evaluation, assessment and crisis intervention for individuals deemed a danger to others or themselves or who are unable to provide for basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter, and unwilling or unable to accept voluntary treatment, said Rebecca Basson, lead patients rights attorney for the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

“I would also argue it is not ethical to knowingly misuse a legal tool to impose additional ‘safeguards’ on clients who do not meet the criteria for them,” she added.

Assembly Bill 2983, enacted in 2019, explicitly states a general acute care hospital or an acute psychiatric hospital cannot insist that a patient voluntarily seeking mental health care be first placed on a 5150 involuntary hold as a condition of admission.

Before being admitted to a designated facility, an individual meeting 5150 criteria must first be given the choice of voluntary admission and refuse prior to being placed on a psychiatric hold. If it is determined the person can be properly served without being involuntarily detained, the person must be provided evaluation, crisis intervention, or other inpatient or outpatient services on a voluntary basis, according to state law.

Revelations about the 5150 policy have surfaced amid several controversies at VA Loma brought to light by whistleblowers, including that of a grounds supervisor who was promoted after federal investigators repeatedly recommended that he be fired for employee harassment and retaliation spanning several years.

In another matter, a confidential 2022 federal report alleges VA Loma Linda mismanaged more than $1 million in patient transportation funding over a three-year period by colluding with ambulance companies through informal “handshake” agreements and unauthorized contracts.

The House Committee on Veterans Affairs is investigating widespread complaints from VA Loma Linda whistleblowers.

Veterans complain

VA Loma Linda admitted 170 veterans on 5150 holds in 2021, 293 in 2022 and 147 so far this year, according to the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health.

It is not known how many of those veterans were seeking voluntary hospitalization. However, several former service members have filed grievances with the VA, according to whistleblowers.

In one of the complaints obtained by the Southern California News Group, a veteran said they specifically requested voluntary admission to the VA Loma Linda’s behavioral health unit but were instead placed on an involuntary 5150 in violation of their constitutional rights.

VA Loma Linda Medical Director Karandeep Sraon said its 5150 policy is guided by a VA directive that emphasizes the need to ensure a safe transfer for outpatient mental health veterans identified as suicidal.

“Our approach to the use of 5150 holds is grounded in California law,” he said in an email. “We consulted with San Bernardino County Patient Rights prior to implementing this guidance. Further, during a recent site visit, they not only found no concerns with our processes, but they also commended our 5150 approach as a best practice. We are proud to have their support, indicating that our processes are within legal and ethical bounds.”

Sraon’s claim about the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health’s endorsement could not be independently verified. The agency said it was reviewing questions from the Southern California News Group regarding VA Loma Linda’s 5150 policy.

However, neighboring Riverside University Health System-Behavioral Health states in its 5150 training manual that detaining individuals who are willing and able to accept voluntary psychiatric hospitalization is illegal.

Arduous evaluation, treatment process

Following a 5150 hold, individuals are taken to a designated psychiatric hospital or mental health facility, where they are evaluated by medical staff to determine if they can be safely released or should be held for 72 hours to receive treatment.

The initial evaluation itself can be long and grueling, said Samuel Jain, a senior policy attorney at Disability Rights California, headquartered in Sacramento.

“The lengthy period patients can wait for an assessment can be extremely traumatic,” he said. “Many of these facilities can be loud, dirty and overcrowded. People can be placed in restraints and forcibly injected with powerful anti-psychotics. Additionally, people’s personal lives can be significantly impacted, including disruptions to work and family obligations.”

One Disability Rights client described their involuntary institutionalization as one of the worst experiences of their life, Jain said.

“At the hospital, the client was tied down with leather restraints, forcibly medicated and forced to sleep on the floor in a room with other patients,” he added. “They were not evaluated by a physician for over 24 hours. When they finally saw a doctor, they were evaluated briefly and then discharged without any community-based services or treatment plan.”

At the end of a 72-hour hold, if a medical provider believes an individual is either unwilling or unable to accept voluntary treatment, another hold can be sought for an additional 14 days.

In California, those detained on a 5150 and admitted to a designated inpatient facility because they are a danger to themselves or others is prohibited from purchasing, possessing or owning a firearm for five years. If they undergo a second 5150 within a year, the firearm ban is for life. No firearm restrictions apply to someone who undergoes voluntary treatment.

Employees revolt

Early this year, as details of Potoczniak’s policy began to trickle down, some VA Loma Linda employees began to worry that the weapon ban provision arising from the improper use of 5150 holds could unjustly affect the employment of veterans working for law enforcement agencies and security firms.

They also pondered legal and ethical questions.

Could they trust providers in the Emergency Department to discontinue the 5150 when warranted? Would the policy impact patient trust and willingness to engage in therapy? Would their mental health licenses be in jeopardy? Could they be liable if providers failed to discharge or decided to maintain the involuntary hold?

Some staff members asked to meet with leadership while others refused to carry out the directive, said a VA Loma Linda employee who asked not to be identified because they feared retaliation.

Anthony Hwang, VA Loma Linda’s behavioral health inpatient supervisor, huddled with employees in mid-March to discuss their grievances. Later, he provided them with a memo outlining the rationale for 5150 holds.

Hwang said in the memo obtained by the Southern California News Group that “true” voluntary admissions can be considered, but added if there are concerns about a veteran changing his or her mind about voluntary hospitalization a 5150 is “absolutely appropriate.”

“A lot can happen between here and the Emergency Department,” he said. “We have had patients become agitated, exit vehicles unsafely, leave the premises, harm others.”

Hwang warned that if there are “adverse outcomes,” San Bernardino County may rescind the ability of VA Loma Linda providers to become 5150 certified. “We will then be unable to assist our veterans adequately in crises,” he wrote. “If we are unable to safely transport our veterans, we may lose our ability to write 5150s.”

Basson noted that “using a 5150 to physically restrain a patient who doesn’t require that kind of crisis intervention, but might in the future, is based on an amorphous idea that people with mental health disabilities are violent, is ableist and unconscionable.”

A VA Loma Linda employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said the intent of the 5150 policy is good but it’s “poorly executed,” adding, “They need to find another way to transport those who are having a mental health crisis and need assessment.”

Ambulance companies’ role

Hwang’s memo also says ambulance companies will not transport veterans without a 5150 hold.

James “Jimmy” Pierson, immediate past president of the California Ambulance Association, said he is unaware of any regulations prohibiting ambulance companies from transporting patients without a 5150.

But patient rights advocates across the state have reported that ambulance operators are indeed refusing to pick up individuals unless they are on an involuntary hold, Jain said, adding that the practice is particularly common in Northern California.

“Disability Rights California has serious concerns about a practice whereby private ambulance providers request individuals seeking voluntary mental health treatment are placed on an involuntary hold solely for ambulance transport,” the organization said in a statement. “This common practice triggers major civil rights concerns and creates a chilling effect on individuals seeking mental health treatment on a voluntary basis.”

Disability Rights California succeeded in adding a provision to Assembly Bill 1376 explicitly prohibiting private ambulance providers from requiring a person to be placed on an involuntary hold as a precondition to transport.

The bill, which would amend state law regulating liability limitations for emergency medical services, is awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.

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​ Orange County Register 

A sucker for Shakespeare, I can’t wait to see these ‘Leading Ladies’

• October 8, 2023

I’m a sucker for anything Shakespeare, so I was delighted when my friend, Lori McKenna, told me she was born on the Bard’s birthday. 

This was her lead-in to letting me know that she is an assistant director of the JFed Players’ upcoming production of “Leading Ladies,” a Shakespearean spoof.

Lori described the musical comedy as a hilarious romp full of colorful characters, witty banter … and Shakespeare. I was on board even before she added “high heels and bad behavior.”

 The story centers on two down-on-their-luck British Shakespearean actors who, after reading a newspaper story about an ailing, rich old woman and her quest to find her two missing nephews and heirs to her fortune, see it as an opportunity to reverse their luck. The fun begins when the actors hatch a plan to masquerade as the woman’s nephews only to find out the nephews are actually nieces.  

Along the way, there is a revolving door of relationships, unusual characters and interesting costumes all culminating in the presentation of a Shakespearean play with some funny surprises. Apparently, a little Shakespeare leads to a lot of laughs.

This week, I honor the memory of another Shakespearean aficionado, my late husband George Roegler, who passed away five years ago. He was a founding member of the JFed Players and a theater devotee who, in his own words, felt “more at home on stage than anywhere else.” 

Not only would George have loved to be a part of “Leading Ladies,” he would have been so pleased about the new talented actors who have joined the theater ensemble. Debuting on the JFed Players’ stage for “Leading Ladies” are Justin Guigliemetti from Los Angeles, Mimi Caballero from Alhambra and Katie Landro from Long Beach.

The show opens on Saturday, October 14 at Porticos Art Space in Pasadena and runs through Sunday, October 22. 

Performances are on Saturdays (October 14 & 21, 8 p.m.), Sundays (October 15 & 22, 3 p.m.) and on Thursday, October 19, 7:30 p.m.  

Tickets available at www.jewishsgpv.org or (626) 445-0810

Email [email protected]. Follow her on X @patriciabunin and patriciabunin.com 

​ Orange County Register 

The clock is running out on LA County’s juvenile halls. Can they be fixed in time?

• October 8, 2023

Less than two weeks remain before the state determines whether two additional Los Angeles County juvenile detention facilities will need to shut down over substandard conditions found by inspectors earlier this year.

The county Probation Department has until Tuesday, Oct. 10, to submit an approved Corrective Action Plan detailing how it will bring the Barry J. Nidorf Secure Youth Treatment Facility in Sylmar up to the state’s minimum standards. By Oct. 18, an action plan is due for the much larger Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey.

So far, county officials have submitted only a draft plan for the SYTF, a standalone unit that contains about 50 of the county’s most serious youth offenders.

The Board of State and Community Corrections, the regulatory body overseeing California’s juvenile halls, received that draft on Sept. 27. The BSCC did not find it sufficient enough to accept outright and has provided feedback to the county, according to spokesperson Kally Sanders.

“We anticipate revisions and a final version to be submitted prior to the Oct. 10 deadline for approval,” Sanders wrote in an email.

No plan, draft or otherwise, has been received by the state for Los Padrinos, which houses more than 300 youth who are awaiting the conclusions of their court cases.

The two county facilities largely failed in the same categories and, in some cases, for identical reasons, though there are five times more juveniles at Los Padrinos than at Barry J. Nidorf. Inspectors found 10 areas of noncompliance at the SYTF and 12 at Los Padrinos, the county’s last remaining juvenile hall.

Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar closed in July, but the compound still houses the Secure Youth Treatment Facility for the county’s most serious youth offenders. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Deficiencies addressed

The county’s draft plan for Barry J. Nidorf indicates the department will develop new training and policies to address the deficiencies. County officials said SYTF is now operating at “appropriate staffing numbers” and attached a spreadsheet showing the numbers for a 10-day period at the end of August as evidence.

In July, inspectors found that staff members at the SYTF were “routinely held over with no notice to cover shifts and report they continue to be exhausted as a result.”

“On paper, staffing schedules appear to be adequate, however, we observed lack of staffing and staff who appeared non-engaged with the youth,” an inspector wrote.

In a statement, the Los Angeles County Deputy Probation Officers Union said staffing has “improved marginally” at Barry J. Nidorf and Los Padrinos in the past month.

“This primarily is due to members stepping up and deploying to the Juvenile Halls from other sectors of Probation and to the Department’s push to hire and bring more staff online,” officials said in the statement. “While members continue to experience hold-overs, the current situation is slowly improving. In order for these efforts to result in ultimate success, we need to see tangible staffing increases as deployment alone will not solve the Department’s issues.”

At a recent oversight commission meeting, county officials stated the Probation Department had failed in certain categories due only to missing paperwork. Searches, for example, were taking place, but not properly documented, according to Scott Sanders, the bureau chief for the SYTF.

Critics dubious

Juvenile justice reform advocates scoffed at the county’s draft and Sanders’ statement, saying it downplays the department’s failures and makes the same promises the county has already made and failed to keep in the past.

“We’ve already seen the real-life consequences, but this Corrective Action Plan would make you think this is somebody who didn’t cross their t’s and dot their i’s, when really it is life or death,” said Aditi Sherikar, a senior policy associate for the Children’s Defense Fund California.

In May, a young man at the SYTF died from a suspected drug overdose, and reportedly was not discovered until the following morning. Youth have reported having to urinate in receptacles in their rooms because there’s not enough staff to take them to the restroom at night.

Sherikar said she hopes the BSCC will thoroughly consider Los Angeles County’s history before it makes a decision, as youth have experienced the troubling conditions for years despite L.A. County’s continuous promises to do better.

How staffing will be addressed

Though a Corrective Action Plan has not been formally submitted yet for Los Padrinos, an attachment provided to the BSCC — and recent comments by interim Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa — outlined the county’s broader designs for the juvenile hall system.

Chief among the fixes is a proposal to rapidly expand the Probation Department’s ranks by accelerating recruitment efforts and eliminating bureaucratic roadblocks that lengthen the amount of time before a new hire can appear for a shift.

A proposed staffing plan provided to the BSCC indicates the county has hired 130 new employees as of this month and hopes to increase that total to 323 by March 2024 by beefing up its presence at job fairs and running more frequent academies.

The department also will continue an unpopular policy requiring all 3,039 sworn peace officers, regardless of rank, to serve shifts in the juvenile halls at least once a month.

State and county officials have blamed the staffing crisis, driven by an unusually high amount of call-outs and medical leaves, for the deficiencies cited by state inspectors, including the Probation Department’s struggles to get youth to school on time, provide adequate access to restrooms, and perform the appropriate amount of safety checks and room searches.

More than 500 juvenile hall employees were out on leave in August.

Sherikar said the county’s plan doesn’t appear to address the root causes behind employees not wanting to come to work. She disagreed that the department needs more employees; it needs those it already employs to show up, she said.

The county has tried to offer financial incentives, such as bonuses, for employees willing to work in the juvenile halls.

“I think they will just push out the problem and, a year from now, we’ll be in the same place with where the people hired this year, or hired early next year, will be the ones calling out,” she said. “What does it tell you about the conditions of these facilities that you can’t pay people enough to be there?”

Other fixes promised

To address lapses in safety checks, the county will implement an electronic system that will ping a “quality assurance” team five minutes before the checks are due and whenever a check is missed. The QA team will work with a newly formed compliance team to also monitor the frequency of room searches and staff adherence to the county’s policies on providing age-appropriate programming and recreation, according to the department.

The BSCC’s inspectors previously found that staff was not properly trained in uses of force, including the deployment of pepper spray, which was supposed to be phased out but has since been brought back in response to a failed escape attempt in July.

In response, 14 officers will go through a “train the trainers” program to allow them to teach the use of force policy to their peers, according to the department. Officials say having in-house trainers will cut back on the need for travel and allow quicker turnaround.

Other changes will restructure Los Padrinos to more effectively utilize the department’s existing staff.

Viera Rosa, at a recent probation oversight meeting, said he wants to segment Los Padrinos into multiple self-contained communities that would each house about 50 youth and have consistent supervisors and staff to make each “more manageable.”

In the future, a visitor to Los Padrinos might be asked “which campus” they’re going to, he said.

‘We can’t fail at this’

Viera Rosa said the progress at the juvenile halls has been challenged by violence and other safety risks. Los Padrinos’ population also recently increased faster than the county expected, jumping from 275 when the facility opened in July to more than 300 as of September.

“I’m using all of probation’s resources in these facilities,” he said. “We understand that we can’t fail at this. Society has designated this as the place where these young people have to go and there isn’t an alternative in the short term for them.”

County officials indicated at the commission meeting that Corrective Action Plans had been submitted for both facilities, though that later turned out to be inaccurate.

“The goal is to give them sufficient time to provide us feedback, so we can make any modifications necessary,” Viera Rosa said at the time.

The Probation Department declined to comment on the Corrective Action Plans, saying only that the final plans will be submitted by their due dates.

Sean Garcia-Leys, a oversight commissioner and the executive director of the Peace and Justice Law Center, supports several of Viera Rosa’s ideas for Los Padrinos, but said he hasn’t seen tangible improvements during his visits to the facility over the past three months.

“Everybody says that Chief Viera Rosa is the guy for building effective rehabilatory programs and making the system work, but he needs the raw materials to do that, and the first of those raw materials is staff, and he doesn’t have it,” Garcia-Leys said.

While it could be true that progress is being made at Barry J. Nidorf, that is not the case at Los Padrinos, he said.

“How it appears when you visit the facility is that things are not improving in nearly a substantial enough way,” he said.

He worries the county might be cutting it too close to the Oct. 18 deadline if it intends to submit a plan that is unique to Los Padrinos.

Its proposal for Barry J. Nidorf would be “wholly inadequate” to address the problems plaguing the larger juvenile hall, he said.

If the plans aren’t accepted

If the Corrective Action Plans for the SYTF and Los Padrinos are not approved, the facilities will automatically be declared “unsuitable,” a designation that would force the state to order each to shut down within two months unless the county can pass new inspections.

That’s exactly what happened to L.A. County’s other juvenile halls earlier this year, and why Los Padrinos, originally closed in 2019, is open again. In May, the BSCC declared Central Juvenile Hall and Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall — minus the SYTF — “unsuitable” for many of the same reasons that the new facilities are in the state’s cross hairs now.

This time, Los Angeles County won’t have a massive facility with the capacity to take on hundreds of youth, like Los Padrinos, to fall back on.

Juvenile reform advocates say the county will need to seriously consider bold alternatives, such as decarceration, if the state orders it to shut down Los Padrinos, too.

The county should work with the judiciary to ensure that youth — particularly those who are pre-adjudication — are sent to the juvenile halls and camps only when absolutely necessary and instead placed into community release programs whenever possible, they argued.

“They are keeping young people who have not had their day in court yet under the custody of a department that cannot meet minimum standards and has not met them for years,” Sherikar said.

Related links

Bill would give LA County juvenile halls up to $1 billion in funding, if they aren’t shut down first
Another LA County juvenile facility found deficient by state regulators
Early troubles plague newly reopened Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall
State clears Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall to accept 275 youth detainees from troubled facilities
State orders LA County to close juvenile halls within 60 days

​ Orange County Register 

California has a new plan for the Delta but faces the same conflicts over water

• October 8, 2023

California’s water warriors have a new arena for their perpetual conflict over the allocation of the state’s ever-evolving supply – a nearly 6,000-word proposal from the state Water Resources Control Board.

The draft essentially calls for sharp reductions in diversions from the Sacramento River and its tributaries to allow more water to flow through the environmentally troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

“It is a consequential effort,” Eric Oppenheimer, chief deputy director of the board, said during a media briefing on what is technically an update of the agency’s management plan for the Delta and San Francisco Bay. “It reflects years of scientific analysis that we’ve undertaken and years of public input.”

The board had previously issued a similar policy paper for the San Joaquin River and its tributaries. The two rivers merge to form the Delta, a vast maze of islands and channels that is the West Coast’s largest estuary.

In addition to upstream diversions to irrigate fields and orchards and serve municipal users, federal and state projects pump water from the Delta’s southern edge into aqueducts for transfer to San Joaquin Valley farms and homes as far south as San Diego.

The reduction of natural flows through the Delta have, scientists say, increased its salinity and otherwise made it unable to adequately support salmon and other wildlife.

The battle over the Delta has raged for decades with environmental groups, lately joined by American Indian tribes, pressing the water board impose reductions on diversions, and water users seeking to protect their supplies.

There are, in the macro sense, two conflicts: how much additional flows are needed to restore the Delta and how any reduction in diversions would be framed and enforced.

The water board’s new draft provides some additional focus on both, but doesn’t provide any solid direction.

For the better part of a decade, two governors, Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom, have promoted the concept of “voluntary agreements” to reduce diversions, hoping to avoid a head-on political and legal collision.

“We want to thank Gov. Newsom for his continued leadership and commitment to using collaborative voluntary agreements between water users and public agencies to support water quality and fish populations throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,” Farm Bureau president Jamie Johansson said in response to the new plan.

However, the water agencies have offered, in the main, much smaller reductions than the water board says are necessary to improve habitat.

The environmental coalitions demanding larger reductions see the voluntary agreements as subterfuges to maintain the status quo and have pressed the board to simply set reduction numbers and enforce them by decree.

“Voluntary agreements serve as backroom deals that continue to leave tribes, environmental justice communities, conservation groups, fishing communities, and other vital stakeholders out of the government-led planning process,” the Restore the Delta coalition responded.

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Imposing reductions would touch off a legal battle that Brown and Newsom have wanted to avoid because it would hinge on water rights, some of which date back to the late 19th century.

Environmentalists contend that those rights are anachronisms in the 21st century and should be set aside to give authorities the ability to allocate water rationally, particularly since climate change is affecting precipitation and thus the overall water supply.

However, when the water board tested its authority vis-à-vis ordering diversion reductions from senior water rights holders, it lost in court. Moreover, legislation that would have provided such authority didn’t make it through the Legislature this year, thanks to stiff opposition from farmers and other rights holders.

The water board’s new draft may provide more grist for debate, but it does not resolve the fundamental conflicts.

Dan Walters is a CalMatters columnist.

​ Orange County Register 

Doug McIntyre: In Nobody We Trust

• October 8, 2023

It popped up on my phone last Wednesday at 11:21am: “National Alert.”

“What now?” I wondered.

After years of floods, fires, impeachments, insurrections, congressional chaos, indictments and $7-a-gallon gasoline, had the locusts and frogs finally arrived?

No, it was simply Big Brother letting us know he’s looking out for us. At least that’s what they claim they’re up to. Millions have their doubts.

“THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System,” read the text. “The purpose is to maintain and improve alert and warning capabilities at the federal, state, local, tribal and territorial levels…”

I wonder what constitutes an emergency at the “tribal level?”

Tony Orlando can’t make his Saturday show?

Based on your political perspective, the National Wireless Emergency Alert System is either a new high-tech way for government officials to give the public a head’s up about an impending threat: either weather related, toxic spill, terrorist attack or incoming missiles from Russia, North Korea, China, Iran or even Canada, depending on your level of paranoia, or it’s the latest effort by the Deep State to indoctrinate We the People into passively kowtowing to the endlessly encroaching governmental authority.

The NWEA test brought out Right Wing paranoia in spades, with social media posts warning about everything from “climate change” shutdowns of the power-grid to mandating electric cars so they can be remotely immobilized by neo-Communists intent on turning America into a godless Third World backwater who will take our marching orders from Beijing while killing us off with deadly vaccines.

Of course, the Left has its own dystopian fears for the future with the Constitution and Bill of Rights tossed overboard to pave the way for a Christian/Fascist state imposed during a second Trump administration, if not a third or fourth Trump administration. Term limits? Phooey!

With Republicans and Democrats unable to agree on anything other than their mutual disdain for Kevin McCarthy, distrust of our fellow countrymen has metastasized into rampant paranoia. “In God We Trust” is being supplanted by “In Nobody We Trust”; not science, nor religion, not the press, and certainly not those monsters in the other political party.

This isn’t the first time in our history we’ve chased phantoms.

In the 1820s and 30s the Anti-Mason Party thrived on the fear America was in the grips of a secret cabal of Freemasons who had infiltrated the highest councils of government. We’ve also had the “Know Nothings” and other crackpot fringe groups who had a moment in the sun before fading away until they are now too obscure even for Final Jeopardy! But through good times and bad, what has seen us through is the enduring strength of America, the center, both economic and political.

When the center weakens, firebrands promising salvation come out of the woodwork: temperance evangelicals, socialist utopians, libertarian populists, Darwinian capitalists, draconian law-and-order tough guys, society-is-to-blame Leftists who don’t believe in prisons no matter how heinous the crime, racists and race hustlers, and yet, somehow, we survived them all because the political pendulum always returned to the middle, an equilibrium that allowed for needed reforms without destroying our vital traditions and institutions.

Until now.

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In the age of X, or Truth, or the Dark Web, compromise is an act of treason and middle-of-the-road is where you find dead skunks. Facts are as hard to find as cheap parking at Dodger Stadium. If this continues, America will become ungovernable and we’re perilously close right now. Last week’s ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy by eight radicals on the Right has thrown Congress into chaos with a government shutdown looming just weeks away. No tears shed for McCarthy. He made his deal with the devil. But this is no way to run a country.

And that suits some people just fine.

Many of the same folks who correctly point to the anarchy Antifa and other nihilistic radicals introduced into cities like Seattle, San Francisco and Portland now cheer the subversion of the rule of law in the very rooms where laws are made. One side sees wrongs that need to be righted through government, the others see a government robbing them of their independence of thought and action. If this is a Rorschach test for democracy, we’re failing.

The final line of last Wednesday’s “National Alert” said, “No action is required by the public,” but it is imperative the public take action to reclaim our country from the crooks, hacks, geriatrics and ideologues who are steering the nation onto a reef.

Doug McIntyre’s column appears Sundays. His novel, “Frank’s Shadow” is available at: www.DougMcIntyre.com. He can be reached at: [email protected].     

​ Orange County Register 

The tape that fractured LA, a year later: What’s happened since racist audio leak upended City Hall?

• October 8, 2023

One year ago, a secret recording of three Los Angeles City Council members conspiring with a prominent labor leader about how council district boundaries should be redrawn was anonymously leaked to the public, upending business at City Hall.

The audio – which was also laced with racist and derogatory comments – was met with swift calls from the public and elected officials, including President Joe Biden, for those involved to immediately step down from their posts. This included then-councilmembers Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo, current Councilmember Kevin de León and then-labor leader Ron Herrera, all of whom have since apologized for taking part in that conversation.

The City Council censured their colleagues – the first time in at least a century that the council had censured one of its own members – and two of the councilmembers in question were stripped of committee assignments in an attempt to pressure them to resign.

For the next several weeks, the City Council struggled to get through meetings, so chaotic was the scene inside the council chamber. At times, officers in riot gear were called in, as angry protesters shouted over elected officials and vowed to “shut down” meetings until every councilmember heard on that tape resigned.

Martinez was the first of the elected officials to heed those calls. She resigned as council president one day after news broke about the audio. Two days later, she resigned from the council altogether.

The other two councilmembers involved refused to resign. Cedillo eventually left office in December when his term was up. The other, de León, remains on the council and recently announced plans to run for reelection.

Beyond calls for the councilmembers to resign, the scandal spurred discussions about the need for government reforms. Today, city officials are considering increasing the number of council seats to improve voter representation and having an independent redistricting commission draw future City Council maps to keep councilmembers from meddling in the process.

Monday, Oct. 9, marks the anniversary of when news broke about that secret recording. One year later, we take stock of what’s happened to some of the central figures in that scandal and where things stand today in terms of potential reforms.

Nury Martinez, the first Latina to serve as L.A. City Council president, speaks at a Panorama City event highlighting a sustainable, high-density housing complex for low-income tenants and people experiencing homelessness in April 2022. About six months later, Martinez would resign for her role in a racist leaked audio scandal. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Nury Martinez

For many Angelenos who listened to the audio, Martinez’s comments were considered the most offensive during that October 2021 backroom meeting at the office of the L.A. County Federation of Labor, where Herrera served as president at the time.

In the recording, Martinez compared then-fellow Councilmember Mike Bonin’s young Black son to a “changuito” (Spanish for “little monkey”) and suggested that Bonin, who is White, lugged the child around like an “accessory.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Martinez referred to Oaxacans as “little short dark people.”

Before the scandal, Martinez – who had also served on the San Fernando City Council and Los Angeles Unified school board – was seen as a rising star in L.A. politics, becoming the first Latina to serve as L.A. City Council president.

But since resigning from the L.A. City Council, Martinez has virtually disappeared from the public eye. She only recently broke her silence, granting her first interview since her resignation last fall to LAist for a four-part podcast about that secretly recorded conversation.

Martinez told LAist Studios host Antonia Cereijido during last week’s episode of “Imperfect Paradise” that she’s thought about that day “a thousand times, if not more.”

“And I also think of the people who are just never gonna accept my apology,” Martinez said, “who really haven’t and will probably never forgive me. And so for that, I carry a lot of … shame and guilt.”

Requests for an interview were left on Martinez’s last known phone numbers and with an acquaintance. None of those messages were returned.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de Leon attends the Feb. 15, 2023, council meeting. De Leon has resisted calls to resign for his role in a leaked audio scandal and instead plans to run for reelection next year. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Kevin de León

Not only has de León resisted calls to resign; the councilmember is seeking reelection in next year’s District 14 council race.

Just last week, his campaign announced that de León had raised $118,000 in 10 days in his bid for another council term.

At the same time, members of the public continue to call on de León to resign at each council meeting.

De León’s office declined multiple requests to make the councilmember available for an interview for this article.

In the recorded conversation, when Martinez said Bonin used his son as an “accessory,” de León chimed in with, “Just like when Nury brings her Goyard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag.”

De León later told news outlets his remark was not an attack on Bonin’s family but intended as a joke about Martinez’s “penchant for having luxury handbags.”

He apologized for his “flippant” remark and said he should have spoken up when Martinez uttered her offensive comments. He also said he would not resign but wished to be a part of the healing process.

In the meantime, de León has felt the public’s wrath the past 12 months.

In the early days of the scandal, some councilmembers walked out of meetings when he appeared in the council chamber. Protesters camped out outside his Eagle Rock home, demanding his resignation.

And in mid-December, his first appearance at a council meeting in two months led to more havoc in the council chamber. That evening, de León ended up in a skirmish with a community organizer and frequent critic during a toy giveaway event in his district. Both men filed battery reports with the police against the other person, but the City Attorney’s Office declined to file charges.

The following week, during the council’s last meeting before recessing for the holidays, de León’s presence at the meeting once more led to chaos, as protesters screamed profanities while supporters of de León began clapping and chanting his name.

While meetings have quieted down significantly since, members of the public continue to call for his resignation while de León has insisted that he’s focused on serving the people of his district.

“My constituents deserve this high level of dedicated public service and I’m grateful for their ongoing trust and support,” he said last month in announcing that he would seek another term in office. “At the end of the day, the heart and soul of the work that we do as council members is about serving the people, especially those that are struggling.”

Then-Los Angeles City Councilmembers Gil Cedillo (left) and Paul Koretz speak during a press conference. Rather than resign for his role in a leaked audio scandal, Cedillo waited until his term ended in December 2022 to leave office. (Photo: Elizabeth Chou, LA Daily News)

The others in the room

Like Martinez, former Councilmember Cedillo and Herrera, the former union head, have kept low profiles since the audio leak.

Attempts to reach both men for interviews were unsuccessful.

Cedillo, who had also previously served in the state Assembly, left office at the end of his City Council term in December. The day after, he issued a lengthy statement, defending his track record and insisting that he and the three others heard in the private meeting were “doing our jobs” by discussing redistricting and fair representation for “Latinos and all communities.”

“I publicly apologized for not cutting off my colleagues when their comments crossed a line. But to resign for staying silent, with no look at who said what in that room, and ignoring the totality of my work and history? That is unacceptable,” Cedillo said in his statement.

He went on to say he refused to resign because ““I did nothing that warranted it. My life’s work has been about fighting relentlessly for those who do not have a voice – regardless of their ethnic background.”

In the leaked audio, group members at one point discussed how many Oaxacans live in Koreatown.

“Puro Oaxacan Koreans,” said Cedillo. “Not even like Kevin, little ones.”

Herrera then referred to Oaxacans as Indians: “Indios. My mom used to call them indios,” he said.

Herrera stepped down as president of the L.A. County Federation of Labor the day after the audio leak.

Then-Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin talks about the racist remarks directed at his son in a secretly recorded conversation involving three of his colleagues during the Oct. 26, 2022, council meeting. Bonin said that a year later, he’s still as angry as the day he first heard the comments. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Mike Bonin

After nearly a decade on the City Council, Bonin left office at the end of 2022 when his term ended. He continues to host the “What’s Next, Los Angeles?” podcast, which focuses on politics and public affairs, and is currently completing a “Leadership in Government” fellowship with the Open Society Foundations.

One year out from when he first learned of the secret recording, Bonin, in an interview last week, said he’s as angry as the day he first heard the vile comments on the tape.

“I don’t think (Martinez’s) whole life should be captured by this time, but I’m still (expletive) angry. I have not gotten to a place of forgiveness,” he said, adding that the comments about his son were made by an elected official who ran on a platform of supporting children and family.

The idea that his son was attacked by “a couple of the most powerful people in Los Angeles” caused “a deep wound,” Bonin said.

Bonin said his son, now 9, has a general awareness of the tape but is still too young to fully comprehend what was said. Bonin said it’s not up to him to forgive, on behalf of his son, the individuals heard on the tape.

Los Angeles City Hall is lit up during LA for All, a weeklong campaign against hate and discrimination, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Since the audio leak scandal, there has been renewed calls for reforms at City Hall. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

Redistricting reforms

Last November, about a month after the bombshell revelation about the secret recording, new council President Paul Krekorian formed an ad hoc committee to focus on city governance reforms.

Last week, following months of meeting, the committee forwarded a set of recommendations to the City Council to switch to an independent redistricting commission for redrawing council district boundaries.

Ultimately, it will be up to voters whether to switch to an independent redistricting process. But the council must first decide what an independent commission would look like and how it would operate so that a proposal can be placed on the November 2024 ballot.

An independent commission would be a dramatic departure from the city’s current redistricting process, in which councilmembers get to appoint commissioners and have final say in how the maps are drawn. The current system enables councilmembers to determine their own district boundaries and is what led to the backroom meeting between Martinez, de León, Cedillo and Herrera.

But even before the audio leak renewed calls for an independent redistricting commission, City Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Paul Krekorian called for an independent commission shortly after the last redistricting effort in 2021. Both councilmembers were in danger of losing a significant chunk of the constituents who initially voted them into office based on various versions of council maps that the commission considered. In the end, Raman lost about 40% of her initial constituents.

In the secretly recorded audio, group members said Raman wasn’t a political ally whose district was worth saving. “So you’re saying that’s the one to put in the blender and chop up, left and right,” de León said.

During a recent interview, Raman said hearing the tape affirmed what she and her staff had suspected all along – “that our district was being targeted.”

“It was awful to hear the truth put so plainly, but it did not come as a surprise to me and my team who went through the process,” said Raman.

Beyond what happened to her in terms of redistricting, Raman said she was shocked and horrified by “the extent of open racism and homophobia” heard on the tape.

“Working with the former council president was never easy, but this was beyond anything that I had encountered in my interactions with her,” Raman said about Martinez. “It was horrifying that … these were people that were in leadership in the city.”

The City Council Chambers at Los Angeles City Hall on Wednesday, June 14,2023. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Council expansion

In addition to redistricting reforms, elected officials are talking about increasing the number of council seats to improve voter representation while decreasing the power of each individual councilmember. But the governance reform committee has yet to put forward any recommendation about the number of districts the council should have.

Despite seeing its population roughly quadruple over the past century, the L.A. City Council has remained at 15 districts – the same number that existed in 1925. Today, with just under 4 million residents, each council district represents nearly 265,000 Angelenos.

By comparison, New York City has 51 councilmembers, who each represent fewer than 173,000 people on average, and Chicago has 50 councilmembers who represent about 55,000 people each.

But increasing the number of councilmembers too much could also change the power dynamics in L.A. and result in the mayor having more power – a concern raised by not only councilmembers but academics and good governance experts.

The last time the city asked voters to approve increasing the number of council districts in L.A. – in order to lower the number of residents each councilmember represents to a more manageable size – Angelenos voted down the idea.

“Time will tell if there is more appetite among the public (today), but I think the general idea of having smaller council districts is what a lot of people find appealing because they understand that will make grassroots engagement in the democratic process more impactful,” said Krekorian, the current council president. “And councilmembers will be closer to voters and more engaged with voters.”

Raphael Sonenshein, of the Haynes Foundation, was executive director of the Los Angeles Appointed Charter Reform Commission in 1999, helping to lead the first comprehensive revision of the city’s charter in about 75 years.

Although voters in 1999 rejected an effort to increase the number of council seats in L.A., there was interest even then for reform, Sonenshein said. Today’s electorate is younger and more diverse than the electorate of the late 1990s, when voters tended to be older and more wary of too many politicians, Sonenshein said. He believes voters today may be more willing to increase the council size.

In recent years, a string of corruption cases and political scandals at City Hall have eroded the public’s trust in their local government. But Sonenshein said he’s optimistic the reform measures the City Council is currently considering could lead to positive changes.

“Good reform can really help make things better,” Sonenshein said. “They’re not a solution by itself. But they’re steps you can build on.”

Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin waits as protesters disrupt the council meeting with shouts and chants on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. The protesters were calling for the resignations of Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Leon for their role in a racist leaked audio scandal. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Moving on

Bonin said that in the immediate aftermath of the audio leak, Martinez called his cellphone but did not leave a message.

De León left a voicemail message, apologizing, but Bonin said he did not find it to be sincere. Cedillo texted Bonin a copy of a statement he had made to the public and attempted to speak with Bonin at the next council meeting but was prevented from doing so by Bonin’s staff. He never heard from Herrera, Bonin said.

He said he’d have to think about whether he would take a call from any of those four individuals if they were to reach out to him today.

As for the rest of Los Angeles, Bonin said until de León is out of office, it’s difficult for Angelenos to move beyond this scandal.

“It’s been impossible to heal while de León has been on the council,” Bonin said. “I think it would’ve facilitated healing (citywide) if he had resigned.”

In the meantime, the City Council is moving forward with discussions on reform.

Raman, who serves on the council’s governance reform committee, is aware that naysayers may be skeptical that the work the reform committee is doing will actually help clean up City Hall.

But she believes it’s possible, citing recent reforms she said has had a notable impact on local elections. This includes the city changing its election cycle to coincide with federal elections in order to increase voter turnout, plus changes to a matching fund program for city candidates to help level the playing field with other candidates with deeper pockets, Raman said.

“I think about some of the reforms that came in a few years ago, some of which have pushed us in a different direction, and they have had real impact,” she said. “I wouldn’t be advocating for change if I didn’t think that change would have impact.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Why do smart people fall for scams?

• October 8, 2023

This month, our articles have shared some of the ways that you can safeguard yourself and your family from the multitude of scams out there.

Here, in a nutshell, are the key points that you need to remember:

—Education: Stay informed about common scams and share this information with your family.

Michelle Herting: How to protect yourself from the ‘Dirty Dozen’ of IRS scammers

—Skepticism: Encourage a healthy level of skepticism, especially for unsolicited offers or requests for personal information.

—Verification: Always verify the caller’s identity for the authenticity of offers, especially if they involve financial transactions.

—Privacy settings: Be cautious about the information shared on social media, as scammers often use social media to gather personal information.

It seems simple enough, right? Why, then, do smart people still fall for scams?

Teri Parker: Guarding yourself from scams, imposters and fraudsters

Smart people can fall for scams for several reasons, and these reasons are not necessarily related to intelligence. Scammers are skilled at exploiting human psychology and emotions, and they use various tactics to deceive even the most intelligent individuals. Here are some reasons why smart people might fall for scams:

1. Overconfidence: Smart individuals may believe they are too intelligent to be tricked. This overconfidence can lead them to underestimate the possibility of falling victim to a scam. When you are feeling secure about a particular opportunity, it doesn’t hurt to do a bit more research and talk to others before acting on it.

2. Emotional manipulation: Scammers often appeal to emotions, creating a sense of urgency, fear, or excitement. Even intelligent people can be swayed by their emotions and make impulsive decisions. If a particular opportunity presents itself and you feel a lot of emotion around it, stop. It’s best to get a good night’s sleep first, and then let reason help you make a rational decision, rather than making a quick emotional one.

3. Sophisticated scams: Scammers use sophisticated techniques, such as creating realistic-looking websites or official-looking emails, making it difficult for anyone, regardless of intelligence, to distinguish between scams and legitimate offers. If you encounter something new, or you are faced with a unique or new opportunity from one of your “tried and true” sources, check twice. Ask questions of an educated third party.

4. Social engineering: Scammers excel at social engineering, manipulating people into revealing confidential information. Intelligence does not always protect against tactics that exploit trust and human relationships. Anytime someone new begins to ask you for information that you generally keep private, please pause and investigate first.

5. Limited information: Intelligent people can fall for scams when they lack specific knowledge about a particular area. For example, someone well-versed in science might not be knowledgeable about financial scams. It never hurts to educate yourself before you make a move. And if someone tells you there’s no time to investigate, this is a big red flag.

6. Momentary lapses in judgment: Smart individuals are not immune to making impulsive or irrational decisions, especially when they are under stress, fatigued, or distracted. Again, get sleep, make sure you aren’t making a rash or emotional decision, and check with a trusted advisor if you need more information.

7. Lack of experience: Some smart individuals, especially younger ones, might lack life experience to recognize certain scams. Scammers often target younger people who may not be as familiar with common tactics. Educate your children, even when they are young adults out in the world. A big scam right now is one that promises to pay off your student loans. You can imagine how many young people will jump at that.

8. Psychological manipulation: Scammers use psychological tactics, such as authority bias (trusting figures of authority), scarcity (creating a sense of limited availability), and social proof (showing that others have fallen for the scam) to deceive people. Are you prone to trusting others easily? You may want to ask yourself what that’s about and to slow down a bit when you feel an authority figure is presenting you with a “great opportunity.” Do your homework first.

9. Fear of consequences: Scammers often threaten legal action, financial ruin, or embarrassment. Even smart individuals can be coerced into compliance out of fear of negative consequences. If you or someone you know is being bullied into contemplating something to avoid these circumstances, please reach out for help. If you don’t know who to call, your estate attorney, your CPA, or your wealth advisor are all educated in this way and can provide you with assistance or resources.

10. Cognitive biases: Cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias (interpreting information in a way that confirms existing beliefs) or optimism bias (believing that bad things are less likely to happen to oneself), can cloud judgment and lead intelligent people to make poor decisions. Again, if you are presented with a new opportunity, such as a charity that supports your beliefs and values, do your homework. There are many great causes out there, and sadly there are just as many scams that will abscond with your funds and direct them to a criminal bank account.

Falling for scams is not an indication of a lack of intelligence. Scammers are adept at exploiting human vulnerabilities and emotions, making it crucial for everyone, regardless of their intelligence, to stay vigilant, informed, and skeptical of unsolicited offers and requests.

The lesson here? Whenever you aren’t sure about something, don’t act on it immediately. Review the reasons people fall for scams, above, and ask yourself if one of these is your motivator. Talk with a trusted advisor or friend before you move forward. As the old adage says, “If it seems too good to be true – it probably is!”

Patti Cotton serves as a thought partner to CEOs and their teams to help manage complexity and change. Reach her via email at [email protected].

​ Orange County Register 

Newsom rejected an opportunity to stabilize home fire insurance market when he vetoed AB 2450

• October 8, 2023

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order taking emergency regulatory action to bring some stability to California’s home fire insurance market. This is particularly important to homeowners living near our Southern California hillsides. Newsom’s action came after he and State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara failed to negotiate a deal to keep home fire insurance carriers in California. An ongoing problem that Newsom could have begun resolving in 2022 when a bill addressing this very issues was on his desk. More on that in a moment.

If you own a home almost anywhere in California, you are all too familiar with how California’s insurance crisis exploded after a wave of devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018 causing billions of dollars in damages. Many insurance companies dropped tens of thousands of policyholders residing in what is known as wildland-urban interfaces. Homeowners were then required to pay sometimes up to two and three times as much for alternate coverage.

The truth is Governor Newsom had an opportunity to act on this issue a year ago when he received a proposed law that I had authored while representing many of you in the State Assembly. Assembly Bill 2450 in 2022 would have required the California Department of Insurance to evaluate a meaningful way to lower fire insurance costs for home and property owners in high wildfire-risk areas. This legislation receiving unanimous support from both Democrats and Republicans and not a single no vote. To the detriment of California homeowners, Governor Newsom vetoed the bill.

If Governor Newsom would have taken this issue more seriously a year ago, we would now be one step closer to expanding insurance coverage and reducing the cost of living for residents seeking relief. He likely wouldn’t have needed to issue his Executive Order. Instead, Newsom wrote a veto message for AB 2450 in September 2022 that a “statutory mandate” was not necessary.

Newsom chose poorly and went the negotiation route instead, leaving California homeowners on the hook and at risk when he had a strongly supported solution in front of him just a year ago.

That isn’t problem solving, rather his lack of action made the problem worse for homeowners. But this is not personal to our Governor, we see this pattern repeat all through our political process. My approach and mindset has always been different, modeled after that sign former President Reagan had on his desk in the Oval Office, “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

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Given Newsom’s recent action after failed negotiations, I can’t help but wonder if he remembers the opportunity, he had last year to begin resolving this problem? I won’t hold my breath, but I want to make sure that California homeowners do, because it highlights the fact that California doesn’t need to be in the trouble it is in. There are solutions, and elected representatives who are working to fix our state and bring down every element contributing to the cost-of-living spike that has afflicted California over the last decade.

We can resolve our issues, but this example of Newsom’s bungled action on fire insurance demonstrates what happens when ego gets in the way of what is in the best interest of the people. During my term in the State Assembly, many families reached out to me to share their stories of how rising fire insurance costs have forced them to tighten their budgets and forego other basic necessities. It broke my heart, it’s unacceptable, and the state had to do more. Assembly Bill 2450 was a first step in getting us back on the right track. Our governor chose the negotiation route, that failed, and now was forced to take action. Let’s just hope he learns from this mistake and that we all continue to demand action on this fire insurance crisis and lowering our overall cost of living.

Suzette Valladares, is a former Assemblywoman who previously represented the North LA County region of Santa Clarita. She now resides in Acton, CA, with her husband, daughter, and two German Shepherds.

​ Orange County Register