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MEMORANDUM
October 9, 2014
TO:
PORAC Board of Directors
FROM:
Marketplace Communications
RE:
PORAC News Flash
Following are today’s news clips
DATE
PUBLICATION
10.9.14
Sacramento Bee
10.9.14
KPCC
TITLE
Another View: If pensions are
cut, the losers are public
employees
AUTHOR
Anne Stausboll
Election 2014: Prop 47 reduces
drug and property crimes to
misdemeanors
St. Louis braces for protests
after latest shooting of black
man by cop
Michael Muskal
10.9.14
Los Angeles Times
Sacramento Bee
Dixon police chief says officer
lucky to be alive after shooting
Bill Lindelof
10.9.14
Sacramento Bee
Endorsement: Proposition 2
clearly is worthy of support
Editorial
10.9.14
State correctional officer, four
others arrested in Sacramento
marijuana cultivation case
Cathy Locke
Student who allegedly
threatened to kill 3 teachers
had gun, ammo
Veronica Rocha
Man wanted in San Bernardino
James Quelly
10.8.14
Sacramento Bee
10.8.14
Los Angeles Times
10.9.14
Los Angeles Times
4010 Truxel Road • Sacramento, CA 95834-3725 • (916) 928-3777 • FAX (916) 928-3760 • (800) 937-6722
triple shooting captured in
Mexico
Sacramento Bee
Another View: If pensions are cut, the losers are public employees
By Anne Stausboll
Special to The Bee
Published: Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 - 12:00 am
The ruling last week by a federal bankruptcy judge in Stockton’s bankruptcy case has caused many to
speculate about the future of pensions. Public employees, retirees, employers, lawyers, taxpayers and
journalists have legitimate questions and concerns (“Bankruptcy case should be a loud warning to
cities,” Editorials, Oct. 3).
As the administrator of pensions, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System does not win or
lose in this situation. If pensions are reduced in bankruptcies, the only losers are public employees.
Contrary to the belief of many pension critics, CalPERS is no Goliath. Franklin Templeton Investments –
the last bondholder standing in the way of the city of Stockton’s plan to rebuild – is no David.
Franklin Templeton is a sophisticated Wall Street investor that did its due diligence, analyzed the risks
and decided to make a $36 million investment in Stockton. As it turns out, the investment did not pay
off. That’s how the investment world works. Franklin needs to move on.
The real Davids are the current and former employees of the city of Stockton, whose retirements are at
stake. These librarians, secretaries, firefighters, police officers, 911 dispatchers and school custodians
chose to serve the public at lower salaries, in return for the promise of a reliable and secure pension.
Their pensions are deferred compensation that they earned by working 10, 20 and sometimes 30 years
in service to their communities.
Public employees contribute from every paycheck toward their own retirement. It is not a bonus or
optional benefit that an employer may choose to not pay during hard times.
We applaud the leadership of Stockton officials in finding solutions to protect the pension promises
made to its public employees, while forging a reasonable path toward a fiscally sustainable future.
CalPERS will stand by Stockton, its employees and residents, and will continue to champion those who
really stand to lose – the real Davids – the public employees and retirees who spent their careers serving
our communities and California.
Anne Stausboll is chief executive officer of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/10/09/6768995/another-view-if-pensions-arecut.html#storylink=cpy
KPCC
Election 2014: Prop 47 reduces drug and property crimes to misdemeanors
Erika Aguilar
http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/10/09/47265/election-2014-prop-47-reduces-drug-and-property-cr/
On November 4th, California voters will decide whether to send fewer people to state prison by
reducing many property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. The millions in savings would
be sent to community-based rehabilitation programs.
The measure is called Proposition 47. It comes 20 years after voters passed the tough-on-crime, Three
Strikes law for repeat felons and at time when Californians are living through historic low crime rates.
Also known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, Prop. 47 would downgrade six felony crimes:
shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, writing bad checks, forgery, and drug possession, as
long as the stolen items or the bad checks written are worth less than $950.
Offenders who have been convicted of murder, rape or certain gun and sex crimes are not eligible to
have their felonies reduced.
About 40,000 offenders each year who are convicted of these types of crimes would be affected if the
measure passes, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst Office.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, who organized a successful ballot initiative two years
ago that softened the Three Strikes punishment law, introduced this year’s Proposition 47.
He said the fact that nearly 70 percent of California voters said yes to amending the once-toughest law
on the book, Three Strikes, encouraged him.
“[It] gave me indication that the public is becoming much more sophisticated about how they look at
public safety,” Gascon said.
Last month, the Public Policy Institute of California polled about 1,700 likely voters across the state.
About 60 percent of them said they would vote for the measure; 13 percent didn’t know how they'd
vote.
Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the PPIC, said crime was at the bottom of the list of the issues
people were concerned about this election.
“There seems to be a willingness, on the part of the voters, to consider alternatives to the status quo,
and that’s because we’ve got low crime rates and you have high cost,” he said.
The California Legislative Analyst's office estimates Proposition 47 could save the state criminal justice
system more than a hundred million dollars annually. Thousands of inmates could potentially be resentenced and released under the measure, fewer inmates would be sent to state prison, and
prosecutors would spend less time pursuing felonies in state courts.
The state finance director would divide up the savings among state departments to fund communitybased substance abuse and mental health services, school truancy and dropout prevention programs,
and victim support groups.
For Charsleen Poe, 55, the ballot initiative could open doors that have been shut for 16 years since her
first felony conviction for drug possession.
“I think I had like a dime, piece of crack cocaine,” she said.
But that wasn’t the last time Poe found herself in the state penitentiary. Her drug and alcohol addiction
led to three more prison terms for personal drug use. She attended rehab classes inside prison but it
never stuck, she said, partly because Poe spent too little time in the programs before being released.
And she said, rehab in prison is nothing like rehab classes in your neighborhood.
“You still have to pass by the drug addicts that are still using and then you pass by the dope dealer. And
then you can go into the store and buy something and don’t have to buy alcohol,” she said. “You have
that decision. And you make up your mind from being out there with that.”
If the initiative passes, Poe could petition the court to reduce her felony drug convictions to
misdemeanors. The initiative is retroactive, meaning prisoners currently serving time for those six
felonies could do the same. It would be up to a judge to decide.
Poe graduated in 2008 from a reentry and sober living home in South Los Angeles called A New Way of
Life. She now volunteers there, fielding phone calls from clients looking for legal help to expunge their
criminal records. She hopes to do that too so she can check the “no” box on housing and employment
applications that ask if you’ve ever been convicted of a felony.
“It will give me an opportunity to say I’m rehabilitated and I’m ready to come into society as a woman
that is willing to work,” Poe said.
The six felony property and drug crimes that would be downgraded to misdemeanors are also called
“wobblers” in court. Prosecutors can decide whether to charge these types of crime as a misdemeanor
or a felony, based on the person’s criminal record and the severity of the offense.
This is one reason why the California District Attorneys Association is against Proposition 47, said
Stephen Wagstaffe, second vice-president of the association and District Attorney for San Mateo
County.
“This takes away from the discretion of district attorneys and judges as to whether cases ought to be
felony or misdemeanor,” he said.
Wagstaffe thinks the ballot measure would ruin realignment. Three years ago this month, the California
Legislature decided to shift some state custody responsibilities to local counties. That means people
convicted of non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual crimes are now held in county jails instead of
state prison.
The state’s police chiefs and sheriff’s associations have come out against the ballot measure. Because
Proposition 47 would change some property and drug felonies to misdemeanors, those convicts would
also serve time in county jails, most of which are like San Bernardino County’s – at capacity.
“Our jails are full and those folks that are coming in that are sentenced for misdemeanor crimes aren’t
doing any jail time at all,” said Sheriff John McMahon of San Bernardino County.
Misdemeanors are considered low-level crimes punishable with six months to one year in jail (and
sometimes, no jail time). McMahon said this group of criminals would miss out on rehab, counseling and
other programs the county jail system’s offers. Plus, he doubts local prosecutors would order people
convicted of misdemeanors to be on probation.
“If there’s no probation tail,” he said. “There’s no way to force them to participate in programming, to
help them so that they don’t reoffend.”
Opponents of Proposition 47 also say the measure could promote gun violence since stealing a gun
worth less than $950 would be considered a misdemeanor. Proponents dispute that saying there are
several ways to prosecute gun theft as a felony.
It was 20 years ago when California voters overwhelming said yes to Three Strikes after the murders of
Kimber Reynolds and Polly Klass terrified families. Gang wars and high crime rates also fueled the vote.
But two years ago, more than two-thirds of California voters agreed to ease the sting of Three Strikes.
And a poll last month shows similar strong support for Proposition 47.
There’s been little media campaigning either for or against the initiative. That could change in the next
few weeks, as November 4 approaches -- and so may California’s great social experiment with mass
incarceration and criminal justice reform.
Los Angeles Times
St. Louis braces for protests after latest shooting of black man by cop
By MICHAEL MUSKAL
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-st-louis-braces-after-latest-shooting-of-black-man-20141009story.html
St. Louis remained tense on Thursday after a white police officer shot and killed a black man Wednesday
night, just two months after a similar shooting in nearby Ferguson, Mo., prompted weeks of violent
protests.
An off-duty St. Louis police officer, working in uniform as a security guard in the historic Shaw district,
had a confrontation with an 18-year-old black man, police said.
The man fired three times before his gun jammed and the officer returned fire with 17 shots, killing the
suspect, police said.
The family of the dead man insists he was holding only a sandwich, not a gun.
The latest incident comes on the heels of the Aug. 9 shooting in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, when a
white officer, Darren Wilson, shot unarmed Michael Brown, 18.
That shooting, which is being investigated by a grand jury, became a symbol of African American anger
at police shootings.
The latest death comes just before what activists are calling a “Weekend of Resistance” in St. Louis,
where protesters plan to highlight the Ferguson shooting.
“In case we needed another reminder, this is not about the city of Ferguson,” St. Louis alderman
Antonio French tweeted. “This is about all of St. Louis -- and beyond.”
In an interview with the Associated Press, Syrette Meyers said that her son, Vonderrit D. Meyers, was
holding a sandwich when the officer killed him Wednesday night.
Asked about police claims that there was evidence that the young man fired three shots and recovered a
weapon at the scene, she told the wire service: “Police lie. They lied about Michael Brown, too.”
At a news conference early Thursday, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson told reporters that the officer
fired 17 times after the suspect had fired three shots at him. Dotson said he did not know how many
times Meyers had been hit.
A 9-millimeter Ruger was recovered, police said. The unnamed officer, 32, has been on the force for six
years and has been placed on administrative leave, police said.
The Shaw district of St. Louis includes the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Census data from 2010 show
whites in a slight majority, closely followed by African Americans at about 42% of the population.
About 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, the officer was patrolling in a car when he saw three males near Shaw
Boulevard and Klemm Street, Dotson said.
Even though the officer was wearing his uniform, he was actually working for a private security company
that employs several St. Louis police officers. The officer was working the second job with the approval
of the department.
One of the trio started to run away but stopped, Dotson said. The officer did a U-turn and then all three
men ran, with the officer in pursuit in his car. The officer left his vehicle and continued to follow on foot
through a gangway.
“When the officer went through the gangway, he saw the three gentlemen had come back together,”
Dotson told reporters. “One of the gentleman started to approach the officer in an aggressive manner.
The officer was giving verbal commands, telling them to stop, telling them how to surrender, telling
them that they were under arrest.
“The suspect continued to come towards the officer until they got into a physical altercation,” the chief
said. “The suspect and the officer were hands on with each other. At that time, the suspect's gray
hooded sweatshirt comes off and the suspect starts to run up a hill.”
The officer said he saw what appeared to be a gun, the chief continued.
The officer “wanted to be certain that it was a gun and did not fire at that point. The suspect pointed the
gun at the officer and fired at least three rounds at the police officer. We believe this to be true because
there are three projectiles that we recovered with trajectories going towards the officer, down the hill,
and one piece of ballistic evidence located behind the officer. At that point, the officer returned fire. As
the officer moved towards the suspect, the suspect continued to pull the trigger on his gun,” Dotson
said.
The gun malfunctioned and jammed, the chief said.
The officer fired 17 rounds. Dotson said he didn't know how many of those bullets struck the man, or
why the officer, who wasn't hurt, fired that many shots.
“When the investigation is complete and during the investigation, in consultation with the circuit
attorney’s office, we will present that case to them and ask them to review it to make a decision about
the officer’s actions and if they were appropriate in that situation,” Dotson said.
Dotson wouldn’t discuss the dead man’s records but said the 18-year-old was known to authorities.
Online court documents show that Meyers was charged in June in St. Louis with the unlawful use of a
weapon, a felony, and misdemeanor resisting arrest. A hearing that had been scheduled for Monday
was continued until Nov. 17.
In the aftermath of the shooting, at least 200 people took to the streets, jeering at police and blocking
traffic on Grand Boulevard, television footage showed. There were no reports of injuries, though some
police cars were damaged.
Some chanted “hands up, don’t shoot,” a slogan from protesters in neighboring Ferguson, Mo.
Sacramento Bee
Dixon police chief says officer lucky to be alive after shooting
By Bill Lindelof
[email protected]
Published: Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 - 10:46 am
The Dixon police chief said Thursday that one of his officers is lucky to be alive after his squad car was
shot up by a teen.
“When you look at that police car and see those bullet holes coming right through that back window
right at the driver’s seat, it is gut wrenching,” said Dixon Police Chief Jon Cox.
Just after 9 a.m. Wednesday Dixon police dispatchers received a call from the principal of Dixon High
School that there might be an armed teen in Dixon’s Hall Memorial park.
Police units responded to the park near the high school. One officer was in the process of exiting his
police car when a teen approached.
The teen fired numerous times into the police car from behind, narrowly missing the officer. The officer
returned fire and the teen fled.
Officers converged on him about 350 yards from the shooting scene. The 15-year-old teen dropped the
gun when ordered and he was taken into custody.
Nobody was injured.
He was booked into Solano County Juvenile Hall on charges that included suspicion of attempted
homicide of a police officer.
“It is unknown what his intentions were,” said Cox.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/10/09/6772211/dixon-police-chief-saysofficer.html#storylink=cpy
Sacramento Bee
Endorsement: Proposition 2 clearly is worthy of support
By the Editorial Board
Published: Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 - 12:00 am
In the form of Proposition 2, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators are offering voters an alternative to the
budget crisis that undoubtedly will return one day.
Although no Capitol product is flawless, most of the policies embodied in Proposition 2 clearly are
worthy of support. One provision that limits the ability of school districts to add to their own reserves is
troubling, but not so much that it should doom the entire measure. It’s a small evil compared with the
larger good of a statewide rainy-day fund.
The state budget depends heavily on tax revenue generated by personal income and capital gains.
Income tax revenue fluctuates depending on the economy, falling during recessions and rising in good
times.
Promoted by Brown, Proposition 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot would amend the state constitution to require
that over time, about 10 percent of the general fund would be shifted into a budget stabilization
account.
From that account, the state would spend $800 million to $2 billion annually to build a reserve and a like
amount to pay down debt.
In tough times, the governor and Legislature could avoid making the payments by declaring
emergencies.
During happier days, money could be shifted into reserves earmarked for public schools, so education
wouldn’t be hit quite as hard during recessions.
Proposition 2 is the product of legislation by former Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles.
Supported by Republicans and Democrats, Pérez’s bill passed 36-0 in the Senate, and 78-0 in the
Assembly.
California’s tax structure relies heavily on high earners. Their income can fluctuate dramatically from
year to year, which means the state will be flush some years and broke other years. Proposition 2 would
help sand down those spikes. Voters should embrace the change.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/10/09/6768975/endorsement-proposition-2clearly.html#storylink=cpy
Sacramento Bee
State correctional officer, four others arrested in Sacramento marijuana cultivation case
By Cathy Locke
Published: Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014 - 9:23 pm
An employee of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was one of five people
arrested Wednesday following an eight-month investigation into marijuana cultivation activities in
Sacramento.
Eddie Lay, 32, was arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana for sale.
The investigation began when the Sacramento Police Department’s South Area Gang Enforcement Team
obtained information that an unknown law enforcement officer might be involved in criminal activity
related to a known street gang, according to a Police Department news release.
Over the course of eight months, investigators with the Police Department’s criminal intelligence unit,
the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Gang Investigation Team and the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Office of Internal Affairs worked together to identify Lay
as the officer involved in the marijuana cultivation case, police said.
Search warrants were executed Wednesday at several locations in Sacramento: the 5000 block of Lemon
Parkway, Rancho Torre Court, the 7200 block of Desi Way, 100 block of Hazen Court, 7000 block of Rock
Creek Way and the 7200 block of Hatboro Court.
The searches turned up a total of 617 marijuana plants, approximately 248 pounds of packaged and
processed marijuana, multiple firearms and more than $5,000 in cash, which were seized and booked
into evidence.
Four other people were arrested during the execution of the search warrants. Tommy Su, 29, was
arrested during the search at Rancho Torre Court and booked on suspicion of possession for sales of
marijuana. Phu Su, 33, was arrested during the Hazen Court warrant search and booked on suspicion of
cultivation and sales. Michael Su, 39, and Vich Nguyen, 29, were arrested at the Desi Way house on
suspicion of cultivation for sale and child endangerment.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/10/08/6771137/state-correctional-officerfour.html#storylink=cpy
Los Angeles Times
Student who allegedly threatened to kill 3 teachers had gun, ammo
By VERONICA ROCHA
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-student-arrested-threat-weapons-20141009-story.html
Black Rock High student threatens to kill teachers; cache of weapons, ammo found at his home, cops say
A high school senior in Yucca Valley who allegedly threatened to kill three teachers was keeping a cache
of weapons at his home that included a loaded rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, hunting knives
and a crossbow, authorities said.
Matthew Ross, 18, of Twentynine Palms, was arrested Wednesday at Black Rock High School after being
suspended for making the verbal threats, said San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Shaunna Ables.
"The threat was very real," she said. "He had the means to carry it out if he wanted to."
Ross was not carrying weapons at the time of his arrest but they were found during a search of his
home, she added.
Ross verbally threatened to kill the three teachers on Tuesday afternoon, and had been accumulating
ammunition over the course of two weeks, Ables said. He has no criminal history.
His motive for the alleged threat, she said, was about a perceived lack of respect.
Fearing for their lives, the teachers, who were not identified, locked their classroom doors Wednesday
morning.
"They were definitely in fear," Ables said.
Ross' father told police that his son was upset when he came home from school Tuesday afternoon, but
that he later calmed down, Ables said.
Photographs of the weapons, however, had recently starting showing up on his Facebook page.
Ross is being held on suspicion of criminal threats at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho
Cucamonga in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Los Angeles Times
Man wanted in San Bernardino triple shooting captured in Mexico
By JAMES QUEALLY
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-bernadino-triple-shooting-arrest-20141008story.html
Mexican police have arrested a 32-year-old U.S. citizen in connection with a triple shooting that left one
person dead in San Bernardino, the FBI said Wednesday.
Alfonso Garcia Jr. was captured Sunday by the Mexican Federal Police in Baja, according to the FBI. He
was charged with three counts of attempted murder after he allegedly shot Richard Loera, Luis Loera
Martinez and Arnulfo Loera on June 21, according to a criminal complaint filed in San Bernardino
County.
Martinez eventually died of his injuries. Chris Lee, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, did not
discuss a possible motive in the shooting.
The FBI determined Garcia had fled to Mexico and issued a federal warrant for his arrest on Sept. 22.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges Tuesday and is being held at the San Bernardino Central Jail in lieu of
a $2-million bond, according to court records.