The University of Southern California has decided that it will pay $215 million to settle a federal suit that its facing over allegations of sexual misconduct against gynecologist George Tyndall. We also hear from both California State Controller candidates; revisit California's three-strike rule; and more.
Two years after passage of Prop 57, California will let three-strike offenders seek parole
Up to 4,000 California inmates serving life sentences for nonviolent convictions will have a chance at parole following the state's decision to let stand a judge's ruling saying those prisoners are eligible for freedom under a voter-approved law.
The state will craft new regulations by January to include the repeat offenders in early release provisions. Gov. Jerry Brown also will not appeal a court ruling that the state is illegally excluding the nonviolent career criminals from parole under the 2016 ballot measure he championed to reduce the prison population and encourage rehabilitation.
The state parole board estimates between 3,000 and 4,000 nonviolent third-strikers could be affected, corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters told The Associated Press Thursday, "but they would have to go through rigorous public safety screenings and a parole board hearing before any decision is made." It's the second such loss for the Democratic governor, who leaves office days after the new rules are due. Another judge ruled in February that the state must consider earlier parole for potentially thousands of sex offenders.
The administration is fighting that ruling, which undercuts repeated promises that Brown made to voters to exclude sex offenders from earlier release. Prosecutors warned throughout the Prop. 57 campaign that third-strikers would unintentionally fall under the measure's constitutional amendment, said California District Attorneys Association spokeswoman Jennifer Jacobs.
Brown will not appeal last month's ruling by a three-judge appellate panel in a Los Angeles County case. "There is no question that the voters who approved Proposition 57 intended (inmates) serving Three Strikes indeterminate sentences to be eligible for early parole consideration," the appeals court ruled, adding that, "There is strong evidence the voters who approved Proposition 57 sought to provide relief to nonviolent offenders."
The administration first argued that they were ineligible because they face indeterminate life sentences and later added that "public safety requires their exclusion." The appeals court found that officials were "devising an argument ... that is at war" with the measure's plan language. Michael Romano, director of the Stanford Three Strikes Project, called the administration's decision to comply "monumental."
Among the 4,000 inmates he estimated will be eligible for parole are clients serving life terms for stealing a bicycle, possessing less than half a gram of methamphetamine, stealing two bottles of liquor or shoplifting shampoo. But not everyone is in support of parole eligibility. Some law enforcement agencies and victims' families are raising public safety concerns. Opponents argue once released, these offenders can become dangerous and involve in more serious crimes. We debate.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Michael Romano, director and founder of Three Strikes Project at Stanford Law School; co-author of Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012, Proposition 36, a ballot measure that resulted in reduced sentences for inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes
Robert Mestman, senior deputy district attorney of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and assistant head of Court of Felony Panel, where he supervises a team of felony trial attorneys (OCDA)
AirTalk Elections Interview: California State Controller
A nearly $200 billion state budget was approved by the governor for next year and the person who’ll be keeping track of that cash is on the ballot this coming November.
The state controller is the state’s chief fiscal officer, and has the power to look into every dollar spent by California.
On the Democratic side, incumbent Betty Yee who has been controller since 2015, is up for re-election. Her platform includes retirement security, fighting climate change and improving housing affordability. Her challenger is the Republican Konstantinos Roditis, a businessperson whose platform includes opposition to the high-speed rail and the repeal of the gas tax increase.
Today, we hear from both candidates about their visions and plans for the position.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guests:
Betty Yee, Democratic State Controller since 2015; she tweets
Konstantinos Roditis, Republican candidate for California State Controller; former City Commissioner for the City of Anaheim; he tweets
USC will pay $215 million to settle gynecologist sexual misconduct suit
After 93 more women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall earlier this week, the University has decided that it will pay $215 million to settle a federal suit that its facing over the allegations.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the payout will be accessible to the many women who sought care from Tyndall during his time at USC, regardless of whether they’ve claimed abuse. This won’t necessarily nix all the suits the school is facing over Tyndall’s misconduct.
We get the latest.
We reached out to USC. They sent us this statement:
As of October 19, 2018, the university has reached agreement in principle on a $215 million class action settlement that will compensate students who received women’s health services from Dr. George Tyndall at USC’s student health center.
Our Board of Trustees supports this settlement, which was reached in collaboration with plaintiffs’ counsel, and which will provide relief to those who have been impacted by this difficult experience. By doing so, we hope that we can help our community move collectively toward reconciliation. I regret that any student ever felt uncomfortable, unsafe, or mistreated in any way as a result of the actions of a university employee.
The settlement provides all class members (former patients who received women’s health services from Tyndall) compensation of $2,500. Patients who are willing to provide further details about their experience could be eligible for additional compensation up to $250,000. Following the expected court approval, all class members will be sent a notice of their options under the settlement in the coming months. In the meantime, I encourage impacted patients to visit this site for more information: change.usc.edu/settlement.
A fair and respectful resolution for as many former patients as possible has been a priority for the university and for me personally since I began serving in the role of Interim President. Many sweeping changes have been made and we continue to work every day to prevent all forms of misconduct on our campuses, to provide outstanding care to all students, and to ensure we have policies and procedures that prioritize respect for our students and our entire university community.
In reaching this settlement, I am grateful for the leadership of our Board of Trustees, and particularly for Rick Caruso, our board chair, for working diligently and leading us through this important time.
Today’s announcement is an important step forward, but it is only the beginning of our journey. We care deeply about our community, we are listening carefully, learning from these experiences and strengthening our university.
Guests:
Sara Randazzo, legal reporter for the Wall Street Journal who first reported on the settlement; she tweets
Ange-Marie Hancock-Alfaro, professor of political science and chair of gender studies at USC; she tweets @AngeMarieH
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, education correspondent at KPCC
FilmWeek: ‘Halloween,’ ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ ‘Wildlife’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Justin Chang and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases
- "Halloween" in wide release
- "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" at Arclight Hollywood & The Landmark Theatre
- "Wildlife" at Arclight Hollywood & The Landmark Theatre
- "The Guilty" at Laemmle's Playhouse & Laemmle's Royal
- "What They Had" at The Landmark Theatre
- "Thunder Road" at Laemmle's Playhouse
- "The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales" at Laemmle's Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre
- "Mid90s" at Arclight Hollywood & The Landmark
- "The Great Buster: A Celebration" at Nuart Theatre
- "An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn" at Laemmle's NoHo
Critics' Hits:
Claudia: "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" & "The Guilty"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvJIaNsf_bY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abaoKA6rn5k
Justin: "Halloween", "Wildlife" & "Thunder Road"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek1ePFp-nBI&t=78s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoJpVQTY_t4&t=52s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTjYRFZOf4I
Charles: "The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales" & "The Great Buster: A Celebration"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbXEEk5_An0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsffUJBYya0
Mixed:
Claudia: "What They Had" & "An Evening with Beverley Luff Linn"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kBGxsyp__o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfX4Z1-kEho
Justin: "Mid90s"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Rx6-GaSIE
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; she tweets
Justin Chang, film critic for KPCC and the Los Angeles Times; he tweets
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
‘The Advocates’ documentary goes street level on Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis with the people fighting it on the front lines
Ask almost any Angeleno what the biggest issues facing the city of Los Angeles in 2018 are, and you’re almost certain to hear homelessness as one of them.
On any given night, more than 30,000 people experience homelessness in the city of L.A., according to the most recent numbers from the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. That number balloons to more than 50,000 for Los Angeles County. Initiatives like Prop HHH at the city level and Measure H at the county level have started the ball rolling on local government addressing the problem on a larger and more permanent scale, but it’s homeless advocates and outreach workers who are doing triage on a day-to-day basis on the ground.
Director Rémi Kessler’s new documentary “The Advocates” examines Los Angeles homelessness epidemic through the eyes of three service providers, looks at some of the political solutions to affordable housing being proposed and carried out, and explores how local government officials are dealing with the ever-growing problem.
Today on FilmWeek, Kessler and two of the homeless services providers featured in the documentary join Larry in studio to talk about making the film, where the City and County of Los Angeles are at in terms of fulfilling the mandates set out by Prop HHH and Measure H, and what homelessness looks like from the viewpoint of those who are working on the front lines of fighting it.
For more information, you can head to the FilmWeek page at KPCC.org where we have a link to purchase tickets.
Guests:
Rémi Kessler, director of “The Advocates”
Rudy Salinas, homeless advocate featured in the film; he is chief program officer at The Center at Blessed Sacrament, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness and isolation in Hollywood, and former program director at Housing Works, a Los Angeles based affordable housing nonprofit
Mary Kirchen, homeless advocate featured in the film; she is the founder and director of development at Housing Works, a Los Angeles based affordable housing nonprofit