Senior Moments: When the sun comes out, I run for the roses

• June 25, 2023

Clearly, the deprivation of sunshine was affecting me. I actually started to giggle with delight on my recent walk in Descanso Gardens after weeks of May Gray and June Gloom. It was the kind of day that called to me to drop to the ground and do a salute to the sun right there in the middle of the rose garden.

No, I didn’t do it. The truth is I never mastered the yoga posture, and that is an understatement. I’m not any better at it now than when I was first introduced to it in BB’s yoga class 35 years ago. However, I love the elegance of the symbolic gesture. I love it enough that I didn’t want to ruin it for anyone who might be smelling the roses as I tumbled into them.

But sitting on a bench, wrapped in sashes of sunlight, I could picture myself doing a perfect salute. Sunshine always smells of possibility. A line from a John Denver song was playing in my head:

“Sunshine almost always makes me high.”

The return of a sunny day is like seeing the remake of a hit Broadway musical. You couldn’t imagine it was going to be any better than the first time, but when the curtain goes up, you fall in love all over again. As it turned out, love was being celebrated in the Rose Garden that afternoon where a bride and groom exchanged vows, the warmth of the sun joining them together like a prayer shawl.

“How you’ve grown,” I said to the climbers that now covered most of the trellises where George and I had first seen them planted many years ago. Another of the sun’s gifts, they had flourished into romantic canopies.

I hummed my way under the rose-covered arches and paid a nostalgic visit to the gazebo where George and I liked to sit and rehearse lines for his upcoming shows and ended the walk with a little soft shoe over to the fountain where I had spent decades of pennies in exchange for wishes.

Sometime, I must have wished for a sunny day.

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

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​ Orange County Register 

Hairy moles may provide antidote for baldness, UCI researchers find

• June 25, 2023

The guy whose naked skull is pale and shiny — save that discolored mole shaped like Cuba near his ear, which inexplicably bristles with hair — may harbor an antidote to baldness.

Researchers at UC Irvine say they’ve zeroed in on the molecule responsible for hair strands sprouting from moles like that. Their peer-reviewed study, published June 21 in the respected scientific journal Nature, is being touted as a major baldness breakthrough.

File photo of Maksim Plikus, a Ph.D., professor of developmental and cell biology at UCI. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“This is a game changer for hair loss for a couple of reasons,” said Maksim Plikus, professor of developmental and cell biology at UCI and study lead.

“Instead of studying only mouse fur — research in this area is usually done with mouse fur — we said, ‘Enough of that. Let’s look at human hair. The solution to human hair loss is in humans.’”

Millions of people have skin growths — “nevi,” in scientific-speak — with hair growing out of them, “a really cool experiment that nature created itself,” he said.

“We looked at these hairy moles and were weird enough to care about them,” Plikus said. “Why is hair growing? We totally didn’t know. It was one of those medical mysteries. It takes people who look at the weird things and say, ‘Why is that?’”

Over some 10 years of work, the researchers identified a chemical released by a mole’s pigmented cells that “potently stimulates hair follicle stem cells for robust hair growth.” That molecule is osteopontin.

It was super hard to pin down, Plikus said, but reverse-engineering eventually bore fruit. Or hair, if you will.

Study published in Nature

“Dermatologists, hair biologists and our patients have long recognized that some nevi induce luxurious hair growth, and this article elegantly demonstrates a novel mechanism for this phenomenon,” Dr. Luis Garza, professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said by email. He was not involved with the research.

“After careful animal testing and human trials — that could take years — this work could lead to new medications that help patients with hair loss,” Garza said.

How it works

A critical difference between a hairy mole and adjacent skin (with short hairs) is that the moles contain those aforementioned pigmented cells. They’re older cells, done dividing. The science-speak for them is “senescent.”

Now, senescent cells are often viewed as, you know, sort of useless — detrimental to regeneration, driving the aging process. But this research shows the old dog can do some cool tricks.

These senescent cells don’t just sit there taking up space. They “linger around and secrete a bunch of stuff,” as Plikus put it. “They use molecular language — you can’t shut them up. They keep talking talking talking, communicating with non-aged cells, including stem cells.”

The bit of molecular language that’s important here is the aforementioned osteopontin, which apparently tells target stem cells to go full Rapunzel. The secreted osteopontin interacts with a molecule on the stem cells called CD44, apparently flipping the hair-growing switch to “gonzo.”

Plikus envisions a next-generation medicine that can trigger massive hair growth delivered via microinjection to scalps, say, once every six months or so. Sort of on a Botox schedule.

The researchers plan to study other molecules to fully understand what’s going on, and see if there are other potential pathways to hair regrowth. In addition to the team at UCI, research partners hail from all over the place, including China, France, Germany, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Commerce

Maksim Plikus, left,professor of developmental and cell biology at UC Irvine, with Yingzi Liu, a postdoctoral researcher, after their SCUBE3 paper in 2022. The image behind them shows a three-dimensional view of mouse skin. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

You may recall Plikus and the crew from their research from last year, which likened seemingly-dead hair follicles to a sea of sleeping 3D printers, just waiting for the command to power up. They figured out how to issue that command — by micro-injecting a protein that sounds a bit like “Scooby Doo” into mice.

“Our results identify SCUBE3 as a hair-growth activator,” said their paper, published in the journal Developmental Cell. “When microinjected for 4 days … recombinant human SCUBE3 induced significant hair growth in mouse back skin.”

To suggest that there’s enormous commercial potential here is an obscene understatement. More than 80% of men and nearly half of women will have significant hair loss during their lifetime, according to New York University’s Langone Health.

UCI’s Plikus is also co-founder of a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company called Amplifica Holdings Group. Amplifica has an exclusive licensing agreement with The Regents of the University of California covering these inventions, and is readying pre-clinical and clinical trials to assess their safety and tolerability.

Amplifica has administered osteopontin to human hair follicles in skin grafts, inducing new growth by human hair follicles, the company’s president and CEO Frank Fazio said.

Fazio has spent 30 years in the aesthetics market, including as a core team member for Juvéderm, the popular hyaluronic acid dermal filler that plumps up skin, thus reducing wrinkles. He has seen a lot of excitement, but not quite like this, he said.

In the first 24 hours after the Nature paper was published, he got hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to participate in clinical trials, he said. They’ve been surprisingly candid about their hair loss “journey,” what they’ve been trying to do to correct course, and why they’re looking for a solution, he said.

“It’s remarkable,” Fazio said.

This work was supported in part by grants from the LEO Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, W.M. Keck Foundation, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the Simons Foundation and California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Shared Research Laboratory.

“It’s inspired by true human biology,” Plikus said. “Not every mole grows hair — yet another one of nature’s secrets. Even more information will come when we start comparing hairy and hairless moles.”

Stand by!

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​ Orange County Register 

Why square dancing offers potential benefits for older people

• June 25, 2023

Q. Do you have any information or opinions on how square dancing affects aging? L.D.

Indeed, there is a body of research that examines the impact of square dancing on aging and particularly on cognitive functioning in later life. The findings are positive. Note that dance in almost any form is considered a plus that can significantly improve muscular strength and endurance, balance. This is particularly relevant for older adults. 

Here are the results of a few research studies. One led by a Colorado State University researcher shows that “kicking up your heels can actually be good for your noggin.” This was in reference to a study of participants in a dance class, most likely square dancing by its description and the picture accompanying the study. Researchers saw “improved white matter integrity in an area of the brain related to memory and processing speed.” White matter is made up of a large network of nerve fibers that allows the exchange of information and communication between different areas of your brain. That broadly translated into improved cognitive functioning. 

Square dancing is an emerging form of aerobic exercise in China, especially among middle-aged and older people. In reviewing the results of 24 studies, researchers explored the effects of square dancing on the physical and mental health among Chinese older adults. The results indicated significantly lower risk of coronary heart disease and increased leg muscles. A caveat is that there may be some biases in the study according to MDPI, a publisher of peer-reviewed articles.

Another study conducted by West China Hospital, Sichuan University found that among approximately 2600 participants, square dancing was positively correlated with brain function, suggesting that cognitive functioning increased. 

Line dancing in particular may be beneficial for cognition since it requires memorizing the choreography as it is danced with others in unison as the song plays. It requires memorizing the moves while with square dancing, the instructions are announced by the caller. 

The Better Health Channel owned by the State of Victoria, Australia identified several benefits to dance and specifically included square dancing. Here are just a few: increased muscular strength and endurance; improved strength, stronger bones, better coordination and agility and improved balanced. Add to that improved mental functioning, greater confidence and self-esteem as well as better social skills.

Square dancing is related to mathematics according to Krin Rabe and Gre Morre, both theoretical physicists who combine their passion for math and modern Western square dance. Both are callers and dancers. They explore the underlying mathematical structures in this form of dance and presented this as a topic for a seminar they conducted. 

I recently had a conversation with Carol, aged 78, who spends time square dancing averaging about 15 hours or more over a five-day period. She finds it exhilarating and never wants to miss a class. Here are some additional benefits she has experienced. “Square-dancing helps me think clearly given that it involves math. It gives me a chance to work with different people, often requiring patience while developing new interpersonal skills. Since it’s social have made lots of new friends.” She also finds square dancing helps her memory since she has to memorize the calls and remember the sequence, particularly in line dancing. The physical activity keeps her body in perfect shape and consequently doesn’t feel stale or old, she added. Her final comment: “If I am going to go, it’s on the dance floor with a smile on my face.” 

For those of us who are new to square dancing, writer Tyler Hughes wrote a helpful piece about it, which I am sourcing: Here are some facts that may entice some of us to try it: 

Square dances are forgiving. There typically is a beginner’s floor so folks don’t have to be afraid or be embarrassed. Also, it is not competitive.
There generally is no dress code. Cowboy boots typically are not required nor are gingham shirts or cowboy hats. 
Square dancing is for everyone. There is no concern about dancing with partners of the same sex. Welcoming organizations include International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs and the U.S. Handicapable Square Dance Association.
Square dances are everywhere. In the early 2000s, nearly every city in the United States had at least one square dance club with larger cities having two or more. 
Square dancing is fun. That’s it! It’s a great way to connect with others with no technological filter. 

Thank you L.D. Your question may inspire some of us to engage in a new physical activity that is fun, social, helps with cognition and overall functioning. 

Stay well everyone and be kind to yourself and others—on and off the dance floor.

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. Contact Helen with your questions and comments at [email protected].  Visit Helen at HelenMdennis.com and follow her on facebook.com/SuccessfulAgingCommunity

​ Orange County Register 

Virtue signaling with right to housing proposal could backfire on California

• June 25, 2023

Virtue signaling is the bane of contemporary civic life.

Politicians, political parties, nonprofit organizations and even corporations loudly proclaim support for whatever cause is either trendy or beloved by a certain segment of the population – while lacking the ability, or often even intention, to see it prevail.

While such expressions of moral support may warm the hearts of a cause’s fervent believers, they mean little in the real world where, as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

Examples of virtue signaling abound, such as a bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to create a commission to recommend reparations for Black Californians whose ancestors were enslaved.

Newsom, et al, were enthusiastic supporters of the cause when it was proposed. As he signed the 2020 legislation, Newsom said it would correct the “structural racism and bias built into and permeating throughout our democratic and economic institutions.”

However, with the commission now on the verge of makings its reparation recommendations, which could be very expensive, enthusiasm has clearly waned.

“Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments,” the governor said in an initial reaction to the commission’s preliminary report, while praising it again as “a milestone in our bipartisan effort to advance justice and promote healing.”

Another classic example of political virtue signaling is now making its way through the Legislature – a constitutional amendment declaring that Californians have a “fundamental human right to adequate housing.”

Everyone knows that California has a chronic shortage of housing, particularly for the millions of Californians with, at best, subsistence incomes. The shortage drives up housing costs, which are the chief factor in the state’s very high rate of poverty and its equally high level of homelessness.

The proposed amendment, which passed the Assembly on a 74-0 vote last month and is now pending in the Senate, declares, “It is the shared obligation of state and local jurisdictions to respect, protect, and fulfill this right, on a non-discriminatory and equitable basis, with a view to progressively achieve the full realization of the right, by all appropriate means, including the adoption and amendment of legislative measures, to the maximum of available resources.”

Noble sentiments, perhaps, but how would it affect the housing crisis?

Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton who now advises Newsom on poverty-related issues, argued in a CalMatters commentary that it would force local governments to accept affordable housing projects, require tenant-friendly laws such as rent control and making evictions more difficult, and lead to more direct government investment in housing.

Perhaps it would, but not automatically. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10 is full of the vague language that lawyers love because it requires lawsuits and judicial interpretations to have real-world meaning.

In other words, it would invite even more litigation on an issue that is already awash in contentious legalism.

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The most bothersome aspect of ACA 10, however, is its assumption – as Tubbs suggests – that state and local governments have the innate ability to solve California’s housing dilemma.

They don’t.

Building enough housing requires, above all, lots of money, much more than those governments can muster on their own. That money can only come from private investors who must be persuaded that building homes and apartments in California will be reasonably profitable.

Officialdom’s most important role is reducing the bureaucratic hassle and costs of such investment, as Newsom and the Legislature have sought to do through streamlining legislation.

ACA 10 is not only virtue signaling but sends the wrong message to potential housing investors that California could make development even more difficult and potentially less profitable.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.

​ Orange County Register 

In California Senate race, what’s the difference among 3 House Democrats?

• June 25, 2023

Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter are Democratic representatives in Congress. They have similar voting records, boast their progressive bona fides and are running for California’s U.S. Senate seat.

When it comes to their voting records, Porter and Schiff agree 98% of the time so far this Congress while Schiff and Lee and Porter and Lee agree 96%, according to a ProPublica analysis of their voting records. In the 2021-22 Congress, Porter and Schiff agreed 99% while the other pairings lined up at 98%.

Certainly, even more similarities abound, including biographical — two are lawyers, two represent Southern California in the U.S. House, two are over the age of 60 and none is originally from California.

But there are stark differences, too, and with less than a year to go until the primary, how all three candidates are pitching themselves to voters, and highlighting those contrasts, is starting to emerge.

“There’s not a great deal of difference between the candidates on the issues,” said Dan Schnur, who teaches political messaging at USC and UC Berkeley. “As a result, they’re going to end up spending a lot of time trying to establish themselves as a particular type of progressive leader: Barbara Lee is the social justice warrior, Katie Porter is the economic populist and Adam Schiff is the defender of democracy.”

“For many Democratic voters, the differences between them are going to have more to do with emphasis and identity than anything else,” Schnur said.

Lee, 76, has been in Congress since 1998 when she won a special election to replace a retiring member.

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She was the only member of Congress to vote against invading Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. The Oakland Democrat has railed against what she considers “wasteful military spending and investing in war rather than peace” and has voted against the federal defense budgets.

In contrast, Porter, 49, has only been in Congress since 2019; she was part of the wave that flipped Orange County from red to blue.

Originally from Iowa, Porter has made economic issues her bread and butter and is an acolyte of progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was once her professor at Harvard Law School. She’s behind several viral moments, from reading a book with an expletive in the title during the House speaker vote earlier this year to hoisting her now iconic whiteboard in congressional hearings and late-night talk shows alike.

And then there’s Schiff, 63, who is perhaps most known for taking on then-President Donald Trump as the House Intelligence Committee chair — an investigation that was the catalyst for his recent censure in Congress.

Schiff, as Schnur pointed out, is the first of the three “to make a serious effort at broadening their political identity.”

The Burbank Democrat’s campaign has rolled out a consistent slate of endorsements from labor groups over the past few weeks, most recently announcing the backing of the California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers. This is the fourth statewide labor union to back Schiff, his campaign told the Southern California News Group, which follows the Amalgamated Transit Union, the IBEW and California IATSE Council.

“I feel really proud to be emerging as the candidate of labor in this race,” Schiff said in an interview. “These are the folks that build things, that get things done, and that’s the focus of our campaign — to get things done for California and to move California forward.”

“I think the paramount challenge facing Californians is that the economy is not working for millions of them,” he added. “I say that not because people aren’t working but because people are working, but they’re not making enough to get by. … The number of households represented by labor has fallen over the decades.”

Schiff introducing himself to voters as the pro-labor candidate in the race, Schnur said, signals that he already has an advantage in the “democracy argument” so he’s looking at other bases of support.

“Even if democracy is his main calling card,” Schnur said, “he can’t just run for the Senate for the next year and a half (by) running only as the anti-Trump candidate.”

As for Porter and Lee, both say they will underscore their records as they meet with voters throughout the race.

“I have been championing progressive values and passing progressive legislation my whole career. Californians want someone who can get things done in the Senate on Day One,” said Lee. “I am an effective legislator, appropriator and negotiator and that’s how you get things done.”

And Porter said: “I am the only candidate in this race who’s always rejected corporate PAC money, and I’m the only candidate to refuse lobbyist money. That gives me legitimacy to lead on issues like banning Congressmembers from trading stocks. Voters can be 100% confident that I work for them — not my own pocketbook and not special interests.”

But Lee is also leaning on her own lived experience as a Black woman in California.

“I can speak to the challenges facing so many Californians because I’ve lived them, too,” she said. “I escaped a violent marriage. I was a single mom on public assistance. I had an abortion as a teenager when it was illegal and dangerous for women to do so.”

Noting there have only been a couple Black women to serve in the U.S. Senate — and none currently — she added: “It is important that the Senate have all perspectives on critical issues, like voting rights, income and racial inequality, health care, childcare, poverty and homelessness. I have always fought to dismantle barriers for marginalized communities which have not had a seat at the table.”

And Porter highlights her ability to question or counter those in leadership positions.

“My questioning of the CDC director got every American free COVID tests. After I called out ‘Big Pharma’ CEOs for price gouging patients, I was able to secure a new law that recovers taxpayer dollars from drug companies that engage in outrageous price hikes, saving some Americans as much as $449 per dose on medications they need,” she said.

Of course, all that could change if the status quo is interrupted.

Former Google and American Express executive Lexi Reese is considering jumping into the race as a Democratic contender with a focus on her “outsider” status and the economy. Her website teases a June 29 announcement.

And then there’s Steve Garvey, a former Dodgers star, who is meeting with GOP officials and weighing a 2024 bid. With his name recognition, Garvey could throw a wrench into the primary for Democrats — leaving just one spot in the runoff, as opposed to two.

One final stark difference between the candidate is their choice of campaign trail provisions.

Lee is up for a couple of tacos on the road, Porter prefers Diet Dr. Pepper but in the mini cans and Schiff picks vegan options from Amy’s Drive Thru.

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​ Orange County Register 

Whistleblower retaliation allegations growing at VA, new report says

• June 25, 2023

As a congressional committee continues to probe allegations of hostile working conditions at VA Loma Linda, a new federal report highlights the proliferation of whistleblower retaliation complaints within the Department of Veterans Affairs.

From 2018 to 2022, 69% of the VA’s Prohibited Personnel Practices cases assigned to a federal watchdog agency for investigation involved whistleblower retaliation allegations, the Government Accountability Office said in a May report.

PPPs are banned employment-related activities that include discrimination, retaliation and improper hiring. The number of PPP cases from VA employees that include whistleblower allegations has risen over the past five years, according to the GAO report.

The report found that over the four-year period, the independent Office of Special Counsel took an average of about 190 days to investigate VA cases with whistleblower retaliation allegations.

During that same period, only about 5% of the VA’s PPP cases with whistleblower retaliation allegations were closed in favor of the whistleblower. A majority of whistleblower retaliation claims from VA employees are closed due to insufficient evidence, the report says.

Retaliation ‘unacceptable’

Terrence Hayes, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, said in a statement that “any retaliation for whistleblowers is unacceptable.”

“At VA, our top priority is delivering world-class care and benefits to the veterans we serve — and that means building a culture where every employee feels empowered and unafraid to raise concerns without fear of reprisal,” Hayes said.

The VA, he said, continues “to place a heavy focus on whistleblower rights and protections training for managers, supervisors, and employees — including communicating the remedies for workers who believe they have experienced retaliation.”

“We still have work to do, and we will not rest until we ensure that every whistleblower is respected, protected, and empowered at VA, every time,” he added.

VA Loma Linda whistleblowers

However, Hayes’ promise rings hollow for some VA Loma Linda whistleblowers dismayed that grounds department supervisor Martin Robles was promoted in February 2021, about a month after a federal investigation recommended that he be fired for intimidating, bullying and threatening behavior.

“Whistleblowers fear reporting because they see how others are retaliated against,” said a discouraged VA Loma Linda employee, who asked not to be identified because of potential retribution. “It’s almost like doing the right thing is a crime in itself. The fear of knowing if one reports the problem and risking losing your job and not being able to provide for your family is a reason everyone stays quiet.”

Many VA Loma Linda employees feel powerless to file formal complaints against their bosses for retaliation, another whistleblower said.

“The VA wants to maintain its authority and control over people when anything like this happens,” said the whistleblower. “They feel that what’s the use, and that it’s not going to do anything anyway.”

The Southern California News Group has been contacted by more than a dozen more VA Loma Linda whistleblowers. However, most are fearful to discuss allegations publicly, believing it may cost them their jobs.

Activist: VA culture protects institution

Darin Selnick, a senior adviser to New Mexico-based Concerned Veterans for America, says the VA has long fostered a culture in which bad managers are protected and whistleblowers are marginalized and harassed.

“Bad VA employees don’t get fired, they get shuffled off (to other assignments),” said Selnick, who served as a senior adviser in 2018 and 2019 to then-VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “The VA has its own culture that says, ‘we are in charge’ and everyone else is transitory. It is all about the institution, not protecting veterans.”

Last week, U.S. Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, met with VA Loma Linda’s interim director, Bryan Arnette, and other officials to discuss new allegations of retaliation, harassment and hostile working conditions amid a widening investigation by the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Poor-performing employees

Under the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act signed into law in 2017, the VA was given expanded authority to fire employees at all levels, shorten the removal process, and ensure terminated workers are not kept on the agency’s payroll while appealing their cases.

The legislation also made it easier for the VA to remove poor-performing senior executives and replace them with qualified candidates and established the VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.

In April, the VA stopped using the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, following an Office of Inspector General report that said the legislation has “floundered.”

The VA has a long history of whistleblower retaliation, toxicity and scandal, which represents a “colossal failure of leadership,” said Joe Spielberger, policy counsel for Project On Government Oversight, a Washington, D.C., watchdog organization.

“Choosing to place the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection within the VA only ensured a lack of independence from agency leadership and a conflict of interest in addressing these issues meaningfully,” Spielberger said.

New legislation

On Friday, June 23, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chair Mike Bost, R-Illinois, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Restore Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Accountability Act, which is aimed at strengthening the VA’s authority to quickly and fairly discipline bad employees and hold them accountable.

Specifically, the bill would:

 Ensure VA decisions supported by substantial evidence are upheld on appeal.
 Negate the requirement for a performance improvement plan prior to disciplinary action.
 Unlock expedited removal, demotion or suspension authority for use with all categories of VA employees.
Align the disciplinary authority for unsatisfactory VA managers and supervisors with the process currently in place for members of the Senior Executive Service.

“In order to best serve veterans, the VA Secretary must have the authority to quickly and fairly remove, demote or suspend bad employees who are undermining the quality of services that our veterans have earned,” Bost said in a statement. “We’ve heard from too many whistleblowers that bad VA employees are impacting care and hurting employee morale.”

​ Orange County Register 

Gov. Newsom is wrong to secretively gut California’s much-needed police reform law

• June 25, 2023

When most Californians think about the state’s yearly budgeting process they don’t expect the governor and the Legislature to shape major public policy outside the scope of spending decisions.

But that is exactly what is happening right now as Gov. Gavin Newsom is advocating for a “Trailer Bill” within the state budget that will undermine a key 2021 police accountability and transparency law just as it’s about to be put into practice.

In 2021 California closed one of the biggest gaps in police accountability by adopting the Kenneth Ross Jr. Police Decertification Act, also known as SB 2. The premise of SB 2 is simple: an officer fired in one police department for misconduct or abuse of power one day, should not have the ability to walk into a neighboring police department and get a new job as an officer the next day.

SB 2 accomplishes this by creating a process to take away an officer’s certification when they are found guilty of serious misconduct or abuse of power. This process is carried out by the California Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training (POST). In addition to the decertification process, key to SB 2’s importance in serving the public interest are its transparency provisions. Under current law, POST is also tasked with receiving and making police misconduct records available to the public, ensuring that residents and news agencies across the state are informed about problems that exist in their cities’ police departments, which tend to make up the largest portion of any given city’s general fund expenses.

It is these transparency provisions that Gov. Newsom is pushing to do away with by exempting POST from disclosing personnel files, and kicking the responsibility of making misconduct records public back to the individual police departments. This is problematic in and of itself when we consider how adversarial local police are to the release of misconduct records.

We need only look at the number of lawsuits police and sheriff associations across the state filed to keep misconduct records hidden from the public after SB 1421 went into effect in 2019, another landmark transparency law. Or we can look at how common it is for local police agencies to routinely destroy personnel records after a set number of years, as we saw with the OC Sheriff Department in 2021.

Recently, the Antioch Police Department was caught in a major scandal when dozens of officers were revealed to have been using racist slurs and making racist jokes in text conversations with one another.

In a statement to CBS 8 Antioch Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker said: “Had the records related to the investigation not been made public this scandal would have never been uncovered[…]and the criminal acts demonstrated by the Antioch Police Department and other neighboring law enforcement agencies would have gone unchecked and continue to target and harm black and brown members of our community.”

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SB 2 was a carefully negotiated piece of legislation between police accountability and transparency advocates and legislative leaders with close ties to the powerful police and sheriff unions that have fought every major effort at policing reform in Sacramento, and at times, it was even a contentious fight. Passing it was a multi-year effort, in which it failed to garner enough support from state legislators in 2020 before ultimately passing in 2021.

History shows us time and time again that leaving transparency decisions to local police agencies hinders the goals of police accountability and transparency reforms like SB 2.

Gov. Newsom must drop his push to weaken SB 2 through the budget process and allow California to move forward as a leader in justice reform.

Hairo Cortes is the executive director at Chispa, a leading proponent of SB 2 as well as Santa Ana’s new Police Oversight Ordinance.

​ Orange County Register 

Q&A with Orange County Register photographer Jeff Gritchen

• June 25, 2023

Jeff Gritchen has been a photographer with the Southern California News Group, which includes 11 daily newspapers, for nearly 30 years. This Q&A is edited for brevity.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for a collection of images showing the letters of the alphabet?A few years ago a friend gifted me a personalized letter art photo that spelled out my last name. It was letters made from everyday objects. One evening I looked at it and wondered if I could do that from the air. Some letters were easy to find, like O – others were very difficult, like N.

Q: How long did it take you to work on this?I worked on the project from February to June 2023, with one image coming from 2022. The pictures span 13 Orange County cities and varied in altitude from 50 feet to 375 feet above the ground.

Q: What led you to become a photojournalist?I’ve always been curious, and have never been able to a desk for eight hours. When I took a photo class in junior high, I was hooked.

Q: When did you become interested in flying?In the 1990s, I earned my private pilot license with an instrument rating. I never wanted to fly professionally, just for fun. In 2015, I got my first drone and was able to mix my love of photography with flying.

Q: What’s the most memorable aerial shoot you have done?A couple stand out: Flying over empty suburbia during the pandemic showing an eerily quiet Orange County. The coronavirus shutdown emptied beaches, closed malls and shuttered theme parks, giving the area an eerie, empty feeling. And, giving our readers a “Santa-eye view” of houses and businesses decorated for the holidays at night.

Q: What gear do you use for your drone photography?I use DJI drones – a Phantom 4, Air 2s, Mavic 3 – and sometimes a helicopter.

A variety of Os seen from the air around Orange County, CA, in 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen)

More aerial work from Jeff Gritchen

Watch Newport Beach’s Wedge go wild with insane waves
8 before-and-after images show regrowth a year after the Coastal Fire in Laguna Niguel
Before and after images of Irvine Lake with a billion gallons of new water
Video: Orange County’s best Christmas lights look spectacular shot from a drone
Aerial footage shows an eerily quiet Orange County — Disneyland, beaches and malls

​ Orange County Register