Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/486997
Nearly two-thirds, or $660 million, of the wa- ter package goes to shore up flood protection struc- tures to prevent mudslides and sudden storms from overtaking communities. Voters first approved this spending in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina. Another $267 million from a water measure ap- proved at the ballot last year would help boost lo- cal water supplies. It would fund grants for water re- cycling programs and help small and poor cities pro- vide drinking water by funding new wells and wastewater treatment fa- cilities. Lawmakers said they need to kick start water projects early, especially as fear mounts that California is in the middle of a long- term "megadrought." "Part of it is about pre- paring for tomorrow and the continuing drought if it gets worse," Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D- San Diego, said after the vote Thursday. "I hope this is not the new normal, but we need to act as if it is." Republican lawmak- ers, who mostly supported the $1 billion plan, say the best way to deal with Cal- ifornia's long-term water woes is by speeding up con- struction of reservoirs. Vot- ers last year approved $2.7 billion for water storage as part of a sweeping bond measure, but the state won't start funding proj- ects until 2017. "We have to work to- gether to expedite proj- ects that will increase long term supply," said Assem- bly Minority Leader Kris- tin Olsen, a Modesto-area Republican. Drought FROMPAGE1 "The program shows students how to get at the heart of their innate tal- ents and skills as leaders," said Dr. Marguerite Regan, dean of Academic Affairs for NYLSC. "Students gain new insight into the value of diversity, heighten their own self-awareness and form strong bonds with other young scholars who share their drive and deter- mination." Students are provided with an introspective and highly personalized expe- rience. Each student's leader- ship skills and abilities are assessed and scholars are then challenged to de- velop the confidence and skills they need to achieve their full leadership po- tential. Dainauskus was awarded a scholarship to assist in paying for her attendance and raised the remain- ing funds through a Go- FundMe account in which close friends and family made donations. Dainauskus is excited for the opportunity and would like to thank all her teach- ers, friends and family who have supported her and are making this conference a reality. She cannot wait to share experiences when she returns. Student FROM PAGE 1 By Don Thompson TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO The num- ber of inmates in Cali- fornia's county jails has fallen significantly since peaking in 2007, but new statistics show a wide dis- parity still exists among locales, with liberal en- claves like Marin and San Francisco far less likely to lock up criminals than conservative places like Kings, Lassen and Tu- olumne counties. The different incarcera- tion rates outlined in the data reflect policies es- tablished by Gov. Jerry Brown and others to let California's 58 counties tailor their criminal jus- tice systems to local con- ditions and law enforce- ment philosophies — setting up 58 different approaches. That makes sense as counties deal with differ- ent conditions as well as differing philosophies in their approaches to law enforcement, said Mag- nus Lofstrom, who stud- ies the issue for the non- partisan Public Policy In- stitute of California. "If you have a county with a substantial gang and drug problem ... it would be perfectly rea- sonable to see higher in- carceration rates," Lof- strom said. On the other hand, "it is troubling if we have a situation where we have two offenders who committed similar crimes and have similar back- grounds, if they face dif- ferent sentences." But it's unclear if that's happening because the possibility hasn't been studied in-depth, he said. The numbers compiled by the Board of State and Community Corrections and provided to The Asso- ciated Press reflect local crime and poverty rates and counties' varying ability to afford alterna- tives to jail such as drug treatment. Some counties tend to hold people while they await court hearings, while others let them out immediately. California voters, legis- lators and federal judges have increasingly fa- vored alternatives to jail or prison, particularly for drug addicts and nonvio- lent offenders. The result is the state's overall incar- ceration rate has dipped by nearly one-fifth since its peak, to 567 inmates per 100,000 people. Much of that drop is due to a 2011 law that re- duced the state's prison population by making counties responsible for jailing those convicted of nonsexual, nonserious and nonviolent crimes. That reduced the dif- ferences between coun- ties' incarceration rates, Lofstrom said, because counties that had a his- tory of sending large numbers of lower-level inmates to state pris- ons suddenly had to find room for them in their lo- cal lockups, or turn to al- ternative sentences. They also had to bear the costs of those local incarcera- tions instead of sending them off to state prisons at the state's expense. That produced what Lofstrom called an "equalizing effect" from the state's overall drop in relying on incarceration, though there still are dra- matic differences between counties' approaches. Most counties have seen significant drops in their incarceration rates since 2007 — 20 percent or more. Just five coun- ties — Kings, Lassen, San Luis Obispo, Sierra and Tuolumne — increased their incarceration rates. Marin and San Fran- cisco counties have rates of less than half the state average, while Kings in the southern Central Val- ley has a rate more than twice as high. The statistics reviewed by the AP cover the pe- riod through mid-2014, before voters in Novem- ber approved Proposition 47, which treats certain drug and property crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies. Kings County District Attorney Keith Fagundes said the ballot measure illustrates the philosoph- ical differences between counties. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon was a leading ad- vocate of Proposition 47 and has emphasized al- ternatives to incarcera- tion, while Fagundes was one of many prosecutors who opposed lowering the penalties. "I'm certainly not averse to rehabilitating those who can be rehabilitated. I'm not averse to sending those to prison who are a dan- ger to our community," Fa- gundes said. Violent and property crime have increased in Kings County since 2007, while they have declined in the state as a whole. The county also has high poverty and unemploy- ment, factors that Yuba County officials also said contribute to the high in- carceration rate there be- cause it can lead to more property crimes and more people in jail. Officials in both counties also said they see a high percentage of suspects battling drug addictions. "Some of it may be phil- osophical, but I think a lot of it is driven by the demo- graphics of people com- ing into the system," said Yuba County District At- torney Patrick McGrath. He started a program 18 months ago to divert drug offenders to treatment pro- grams instead of jail, and county officials are work- ing on ways to keep more suspects out of jail while they are awaiting trial. "I recognize times have changed, it's the will of the people of California," McGrath said. INCARCERATION Chances of being locked up vary widely across the state Californiacountiesvarywidelyintherateatwhichthey incarcerate their residents, according to information compiled by the California Board of State and Communi- ty Corrections. Incarceration rates per 100,000popu- lation peaked in 2007, when the number of California prison inmates was at an all-time high. The overall rate and the rate of those locked up in prisons and jails have generally declined since then, but not in all counties. BYTHENUMBERS:INCARCERATIONRATES The Associated Press LONG BEACH A 47-year-old woman and a friend were charged Friday with kidnap- ping, murder and attempted murder in an alleged plot to steal babies that investiga- tors say was an effort by the woman to convince her mar- ried boyfriend that she had given birth to his twins. Giseleangelique Rene D'Milian and Anthony Ray McCall, 29, were scheduled for arraignment Friday at the Long Beach courthouse, the Los Angeles County dis- trict attorney's office said. Those charges involve the Jan. 3 abduction of a 3-week- old girl who was found dead the next day. The baby's par- ents and an uncle were shot and wounded. D'Milian, McCall and a third defendant, Todd Da- mon Boudreaux, 44, also were charged with at- tempted murder and at- tempted kidnapping of a baby on Feb. 6. If convicted, the three face up to life in prison. Prosecutors planned to ask that bail be set at $5 million each for D'Milian and Mc- Call, and at $1 million for Boudreaux. It wasn't clear if they have attorneys or would request public defenders at Friday's hearing. D'Milian calls herself a mogul, a motivational speaker and a songwriter on her many websites. But police paint her as a twisted schemer who was out to convince her boy- friend he fathered twin ba- bies. There is no indication he knew of the plans. D'Milian's daughter, Cha- risse Shelton, 30, was ar- rested with the others but prosecutors did not charge her. Details of the case emerged a week after a Colorado woman who told her family she was preg- nant lured an expectant mother to her home and cut the unborn baby from her belly, authorities said. The baby didn't survive, but the mother has been released from a hospital. In D'Milian's case, no hint of violent tendencies appear on her multiple websites and international fan accounts, where she goes by René Reyes. She advertised herself as the founder of an indepen- dent recording label and a professional speaker who has helped multinational corporations improve their operations. She had 271 pod- casts on iTunes under the title "Speak Into Existence With René Reyes." Police believe the only child abducted in the plot was 3-week-old Eliza Dela- cruz. D'Milian and Mc- Call followed Eliza and her mother on Jan. 3 as they rode a Long Beach bus, po- lice said. D'Milian briefly spoke with the woman, then Mc- Call burst into their home two hours later, shot the baby's parents and uncle and kidnapped Eliza, po- lice said. The baby was found dead in a trash bin the following day in Impe- rial Beach, a Mexican bor- der city 100 miles away. LONG BEACH The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Sheriff's deputies arranged and gambled on fights between San Francisco jail inmates and told them to lie if they needed medical attention, an official said. Public defender Jeff Adachi, an elected official, said that over the past few weeks at least four deputies at San Francisco County Jail threatened inmates with violence or withheld food if they did not fight, the San Francisco Chroni- cle reported Thursday. Adachi said the ring- leader in the fights was Deputy Scott Neu, who was accused in 2006 of forcing inmates to perform sexual acts on him. That case was settled out of court. Harry Stern, an attor- ney for the San Francisco Deputy Sheriff's Associa- tion, the union represent- ing deputies, told The As- sociated Press on Friday in an email that there "wasn't a ring to be the leader of." Stern also said in a statement that claims by Adachi were exaggerated and the fighting was little more than horseplay. Adachi said the four deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave during the investi- gation. Inmate Ricardo Pali- kiko Garcia said he was forced to fight and that Neu "gets a kick out of it." The fights allegedly took place in a hallway that was blocked from view. "It looks like it brings him joy by doing this, while we're suffering by what he's doing," Garcia told the newspaper. Garcia said that in early March he was twice forced to fight another inmate. SAN FRANCISCO Pub li c de fe nd er : Ja il in ma te s fo rc ed to fi gh t fo r gu ar d ga mb lin g SCOTT VARLE — THE DAILY BREEZE Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, right, speaks during a news conference in Long Beach on Wednesday in the case of a plot to kidnap two newborn babies. Woman, friend charged with murder in alleged baby-the plot Friday Location 2007 2014 Change Alameda 588 444 -24% Alpine N/A N/A N/A Amador 748 710 -5% Butte 879 714 -19% Calaveras 503 369 -27% Colusa 739 691 -6% Contra Costa 345 315 -9% Del Norte 1077 784 -27% El Dorado 477 421 -12% Fresno 977 745 -24% Glenn 1096 699 -36% Humboldt 823 563 -32% Imperial 569 519 -9% Inyo 960 543 -43% Kern 960 753 -22% Kings 1244 1384 11% Lake 1341 1043 -22% Lassen 792 821 4% Los Angeles 771 641 -17% Madera 842 692 -18% Marin 296 226 -24% Mariposa 658 612 -7% Mendocino 703 695 -1% Merced 820 726 -11% Modoc 834 552 -34% Mono 486 362 -26% Monterey 753 622 -17% Napa 479 392 -18% Nevada 348 343 -1% Orange 551 448 -19% Placer 501 368 -27% Plumas 563 459 -18% Riverside 718 611 -15% Sacramento 859 766 -11% San Benito 479 405 -15% San Bernardino 899 702 -22% San Diego 605 479 -21% San Francisco 449 265 -41% San Joaquin 795 631 -21% San Luis Obispo 488 502 3% San Mateo 431 314 -27% Santa Barbara 659 509 -23% Santa Clara 620 450 -27% Santa Cruz 425 379 -11% Shasta 1088 852 -22% Sierra 528 604 14% Siskiyou 780 606 -22% Solano 725 460 -37% Sonoma 509 399 -22% Stanislaus 743 565 -24% Sutter 853 606 -29% Tehama 1136 883 -22% Trinity 769 756 -2% Tulare 1058 875 -17% Tuolumne 761 779 2% Ventura 520 418 -20% Yolo 731 620 -15% Yuba 1490 1066 -28% California 701 567 -19% 2610BechelliLn. 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