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ByMichaelR.Blood The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Elliot Rod- ger's murderous rampage near Santa Barbara has tragically exposed the limi- tations of involuntary-com- mitment laws that allow au- thorities to temporarily con- fine people who are deemed a danger to themselves or others. Three weeks before he stabbed and shot six peo- ple to death and then ap- parently took his own life, the 22-year-old sometime college student was ques- tioned by sheriff's deputies outside his apartment and was able to convince them he was calm, courteous and no threat to anyone. The of- ficers had been sent by local health officials after Rod- ger's family expressed con- cern about him. "He just didn't meet the criteria for any further in- tervention," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said on CBS' "Face the Na- tion" on Sunday. "He was able to make a very convinc- ing story that there was no problem, that he wasn't go- ing to hurt himself or any- one else." Like many other states, California has a law intended to identify and confine dan- gerously unstable people be- fore they can do harm. It al- lows authorities to hold peo- ple in a mental hospital for up to 72 hours for observa- tion. To trigger it, there must be evidence a person is sui- cidal, intent on hurting oth- ers or so "gravely disabled" as to be unable to care for himself. Police and medical per- sonnel make tens of thou- sands of such welfare checks in California annually. In the year that ended June 2012, nearly 126,000 people were placed on temporary men- tal health holds in California. In Rodger's case, it's not clear whether the law was too porous, if deputies were inadequately trained or if they simply weren't provided enough information to fer- ret out how deeply troubled Rodger had become. For example, Rodger's mother knew at the time of the April 30 visit that her son had been posting bizarre videos on YouTube, yet po- lice have said they were un- aware of any such footage until after the rampage last Friday. Ideally, officers making welfare checks should gather as much evidence as possible beforehand, including fam- ily statements and videos, said Risdon Slate, a profes- sor of criminology at Flor- ida Southern College who has trained law enforcement personnel to recognize the signs of mental illness. But even if the deputies are well-trained, "a person with mental illness may be able to hold it together long enough" to avoid appearing suspicious, Slate said. Rick Wall, a retired Los Angeles police captain who created the agency's proce- dures for responding to peo- ple with mental problems, said many tend to have some "leakage" in their behavior that can be a tipoff to what they are planning to do. "In this case the leakage was like a sieve, there was so much stuff out there," Wall said. "People were hearing this, but no one was connect- ing the dots. No one was for- warding the information to where it could have been put together." Law enforcement author- ities dealing with such cases must also strike a balance between public safety and in- dividual liberty and privacy. In his written materials that surfacedafter the shoot- ings, Rodger said his weap- ons were stashed steps away inside his apartment, along with his blueprint to "exact revenge on my enemies." But his room was never searched on the day dep- uties visited. His parents have said they were un- aware he owned guns, and police would have been un- able to search his apartment unless they obtained a war- rant or believed there was an imminent threat. California Senate Presi- dent Pro Tem Darrell Stein- berg suggested Tuesday that authorities should be required to determine if a person being assessed has bought guns, and additional steps could include talking to roommates, neighbors and relatives. Still, it's not clear whether involuntarily committing Rodger would have averted the bloodshed. In many cases, people must be set free after the 72 hours are up. "That's the debate. That's the issue: liberty ver- sus forced treatment," said Tony Beliz, a retired deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Men- tal Health. "After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after things like this, the usual argu- ments come up. On the gun side, it's take all the guns away — the extremists say — or give everybody a gun," Beliz said. It's the "same thing with the mental illness side — it's 'Make the laws tougher, hospitalize everybody, throw away the key.' That's great until it's your kid." WELFARE CHECKS Rampage shows gaps in mental health law RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A truck enters the Foster Farms processing plant in Livingston, Calif. An outbreak of antibiotic-resistant salmonella linked to a California chicken company is ongoing a er more than a year, with 50new illnesses in the last two months and 574sickened since March 2013. The Associated Press WASHINGTON An outbreak of antibiotic-resistant salmo- nella linked to a California chicken producer continues to sicken people more than a year after it started. Despite the illnesses, pro- ducer Foster Farms has not initiated a recall, and the government has no appar- ent plans to shut it down. The federal Centers for Disease Control says there were 50 new illnesses in the last two months, bringing to 574 the total number of cases in the outbreak. Most of the illnesses are in California. Though centered on the West Coast, the outbreak is widespread — victims came from 27 states and Puerto Rico. The Agriculture Depart- ment says it is closely mon- itoring Foster Farms facili- ties and that measured rates of salmonella in the compa- ny's products have been go- ing down. The department threatened to shut down Foster Farms' facilities last year but let them stay open after the company said it had made immediate changes to reduce salmonella rates. Food safety advocates say it is long past time to pres- sure the company for a re- call and to shut down pro- duction. "It's very unclear why USDA isn't taking more action to stop the sale of the product and protect the public," says Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Cen- ter for Science in the Pub- lic Interest. Foster Farms said this week that it has put new measures in place, includ- ing tighter screening of birds, improved safety on the farms where the birds are raised and better sanitation in its plants. The company suggested that the recent cases may be because sal- monella incidence increases in the warmer months. Tainted chicken still making people sick SALMONELLA By Lynn Elber The Associated Press LOS ANGELES LeVar Bur- ton's fundraising effort to bring "Reading Rainbow" to the online masses is a by- the-book success. The goal of raising $1 mil- lion by July 2 was reached within hours of the cam- paign's launch Wednesday on Kickstarter, according to the website. More than 23,000 donors had pledged $1.1 million and counting. Burton was the host of "Reading Rainbow," the children's literacy pro- gram that aired on public TV through 2009. "It was my mother who taught me that, by picking up a book, I could 'go any- where' and 'be anything,' " Burton said in a posting on Kickstarter. Contributors can claim rewards ranging from au- tographed memorabilia to a private dinner with Bur- ton to a chance to put on the visor that the actor wore on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." "We're not just getting pledges, but so much email love that our server froze," said Mark Wolfe, Burton's business partner. "I'm so happy to help. LeVar taught me to read," is among the typical messages, he said. A tablet version of "Read- ing Rainbow" was released in 2012 and became a top- selling education app. It pro- vides access to hundreds of books and Burton's video- taped "field trips" to his- toric and other places, said Wolfe, who co-founded the for-profit RRKidz company with Burton. The Kickstarter cam- paign is intended to help bring an online version to more children for a $5 monthly subscription fee, Wolfe said. Many more fam- ilies have access to comput- ers than tablets, he said. An educator-specific format will be created for schools and made avail- able free to at least 1,500 of the neediest classrooms, RRKidz said. Burton and Wolfe hold the global rights to "Read- ing Rainbow" in partner- ship with the show's creator, public TV station WNED in Buffalo, New York, accord- ing to a release. CROWDSOURCING Saving 'Reading Rainbow' Kickstarter campaign gathers $1 million in less than a day By Fenit Nirappil The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Califor- nians buying guns from out-of-state sources would have to go through the same steps required for in- state purchases under a bill passed Wednesday by the state Assembly. AB1609 advanced to the Senate on a 48-23 party-line vote. Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, said he carried the bill in response to gun violence in his district and mass killings, including the weekend slayings in Santa Barbara. "We don't have to wait for another massacre," Alejo said. "We can take action to pass sensible gun poli- cies that protect our com- munities." He said firearms pur- chased in nearby states with loose regulations, including Nevada and Arizona, are making their way into the handsofCaliforniacriminals. The bill would require that firearms imported from other states must be sent to a California dealer who would then run the re- quired state checks on the buyers to make sure they comply with state rules. Under current California regulations, gun purchasers must wait 10 days, undergo a background check and have safety training, with some exceptions. Assemblywoman Shan- non Grove, R-Bakersfield, said she has bought weap- ons from other states, and Californians already face hurdles in doing so. Those include registering with the Department of Justice and submitting fingerprints. "It's like buying a car from out of state: We have to register with the Depart- ment of Motor Vehicles and follow all the laws," Grove said. The California Rifle and Pistol Association called the billanunnecessarymeasure. "There are adequate Cal- ifornia laws that prohibit the transfer of firearms without going through a li- censed firearms dealer," the organization wrote in oppo- sition to the bill. 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