![Former Fullerton police officers Jay Cicinelli, left, and Manuel Ramos listen with Ramos' defense attorney, John D. Barnett, right, as Orange County district attorney Tony Rackauckas delivers his rebuttal closing argument in the case against them stemming from the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man, who died after a violent 2011 confrontation with the [then] officers.
///ADDITIONAL INFO: SLUG: kellythomas0109 - 1/9/14 - PHOTO BY JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER/POOL PHOTO -- Closing arguments concluded in the trial of two former Fullerton police officers, Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli, in Santa Ana Thursday. The men are facing charges related to the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man, who died after a violent 2011 confrontation with the [then] officers.
Picture made at the Orange County Superior Court’s department-40 courtroom in Santa Ana Thursday, January 9, 2014.](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/04fb900/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3060x2036+0+0/resize/1344x894!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fa.scpr.org%2F75627_42e5e7968310f687d58041a939528872_original.jpg)
Today on the show, we'll speak with the father of slain homeless man Kelly Thomas about the not-guilty verdict in his wrongful death trial. Then, the ACA is still struggling to enroll Spanish-speaking people. Plus, the effect of novels on the health of your brain, this week's new music, "Friday Night Tykes" unveils the competitive world of Texas youth football and much more.
Language a major barrier to health exchange enrollment for Latinos
Latinos haven't had an easy time signing up for healthcare, and a quick visit to the Spanish-language version of the Affordable Care Act website might explain why.
The website, CuidadodeSalud.gov, has been plagued with problems since its launch in December. Spanish speakers say it's almost unintelligible, filled with poor translations and links leading them to English pages. That's led to enrollments that fall short of expectations.
For more we're joined by Gabriel Sanchez, professor of political science at the University of New Mexico and research director for the polling firm Latino Decisions.
The Kelly Thomas trial comes to an end
Yesterday, a jury in Fullerton found two former Fullerton police officers not guilty of beating homeless man Kelly Thomas to death in 2011.
RELATED: Dozens gather for Kelly Thomas vigil following officers' acquittal in his death
We'll talk to Thomas's father, Ron, about the trial and the verdict, then we'll hear from John Barnett, attorney who represented one of the officers on trial.
Interview Highlights:
What went through your head when verdict was read?:
Ron Thomas: "O.J. Simpson trial. I had thought about it even the night before, all night long, about the possibilities of being found not guilty and being found guilty. The different scenarios and what kept popping in my head was Johnnie Cochran and O.J. Simpson celebrating and that's exactly what I have seen yesterday with Ramos and Cicinelli with their attorneys and it was just, it was horrible. What happened to Kelly shouldn't happen to any person, especially by police officers and then walk away clean. Not even excessive force. It's unbelievable. They beat him to death. Nobody is going to deny that. And you know, their attorney claims that they committed no crime and they did everything by the book."
On Kelly Thomas's violent nature:
"He had once episode where he was violent with his grandfather and it was part of a psychotic episode and weeks after that happened he apologized to his grandfather and his grandfather was fine with it. He acknowledges it sure hurt, but he didn't hold it against him. He knew that was not Kelly because they had a good relationship."
How do you move on from this?:
"It's not easy at all, but I have to. I have to put it in perspective. I'll start working with the FBI and try to get them in that way. There are no guarantees at all and I know that going into it, but it's something else that needs to be done. I need to exhaust all means to at least get some type of justice. Now as far as the civil suit goes, that's something I have to file. You just can't let it a city walk away free. It's not about money. It never has been. But the criminal case is what I have wanted all along."
Does law enforcement need to change the way it uses force?:
"Absolutely. There is a lot of good that has come out of this. I have been a pain in a lot of people's side, making change and changing policies and I'll continue doing so. They just cannot beat people. They don't have to be mentally ill. They just can't beat people because they have a badge."
One of his favorite memories of his son:
"Well, I took him to a Bob Dylan concert years ago and we really had a good time. Ringo Starr walked by us and Danny DeVito. We just had a great time with all of that. And we had been out at my boat several times and we went all over the place and did so many things together. He was just a real pleasure to be around most of the time, and I say most of the time because, again, when he wasn't on his meds that was a whole different ball game and I had to get him back on his meds and level minded. He was a lot of fun to be with."
A doctor's prescription for self-help books
After the shootings in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut, many people called for expanded mental health services.
But between 2009 and 2012, states cut $4.3 billion in spending for the mentally ill. Also, there's only about one mental health professional in the country for every 900 people.
So what if one opportunity for treatment was in a book?
In the UK, a program devised by psychologist Dr Neil Frude assembles a list of self-help books peer-reviewed by fellow professionals.
"There really were very few professionals available to give specialist treatment," says Dr Frude, "The normal way we think of therapy is one-to-one, face-to-face. And that's very resource hungry."
The idea is to help people who otherwise can't find -- or afford -- a therapist or prescription drugs.
In this program, local libraries will readily stock the books. Meanwhile, the list is given to physicians who Dr. Frude says often carry the biggest treatment load.
"90 percent of all people with a mental illness are actually treated exclusively by non-specialists," says Frude.
Dr. Frude says these books don't completely replace therapy or medication, but can help people with milder forms of depression or other issues that can be addressed through texts.
"If there is nothing, then here is something," says Dr. Frude, "And this is a whole lot better than nothing."
Reading novels gives your brain a physical workout, study says
There's another way books may be good for your health.
New research from Emory University suggests that reading novels can actually lead to neurological changes in your brain. Not just the linguistic areas of your mind, but also in the parts governing physical activity.
So when you examine the brain after reading a novel, it looks as if you've been physically in the protagonist's shoes, too. For more on this, we're joined by the lead author of this study, neuroscientist Gregory Berns.
'Friday Night Tykes' looks inside the competitive Texas youth football scene
Illegal recruiting, cheating, suspensions. Those may sound like story lines from a typical college football season, and they are all part of a new documentary-style show. The thing is, it's not about college football. It's about eight- and nine-year-old players.
"Friday Night Tykes", which debuts tonight on Esquire Network, follows the players, coaches and parents of five youth football teams in the San Antonio, Texas area.
For more on this, we're joined by Jason Sciavicco, executive producer of "Friday Night Tykes."
Seattle Seahawks bar California residents from game against 49ers
This Sunday the Seattle Seahawks host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
Seahawks fans are documented to be some the loudest fans in sports. One way to do that is to make sure of that is to keep the numbers of fans of the opposing team are kept to a minimum when they play in their home stadium.
The Seahawks have announced they will not sell tickets to their game vs the Niners to anyone with a California address. For more on this we're joined by KPCC's business reporter Ben Bergman who also happens to be one of the biggest Seahawks fans outside of Seattle.
Tuesday Reviewsday: Mr. Bigz, Outkast and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
It's time for Tuesday Reviewsday our weekly new music segment. This week, Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.com drops by with his three picks of the week.
Oliver's Picks:
Outkast are back! They haven't had a new release since 2005, and we still don't have a new album, but they'll be reuniting to play at Coachella this year. Actually, they'll be appearing at more than 40 festivals over the course of 2014.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings do have a new record titled "Give The People What They Want". It's all about the retro feel with this band. They've been putting out albums since 1994, but Sharon's musical history goes back to the late '70s, when she had a brief moment in the spotlight as a singer. When she faded, she eventually became a corrections officer and was rediscovered by the owner of a record label who helped her release new music.
This most recent album was supposed to come out last summer, but Sharon Jones was diagnosed with stage two pancreatic cancer, making it difficult to finish. She wrapped up chemo and her cancer seems to be in remission and the album has finally come out.
Mr. Bigz — AKA the Flygerian -—out of the UK. He's built a reputation for himself in the UK hip hop scene. This newest album "My Funked Up Soul" features smooth rhymes and classic 70s slow james as backing music. Download the album for free here.
Northridge Earthquake Anniversary: Despite retrofits, are homes any safer now?
This is one in a weeklong series of stories on KPCC leading up to Friday's 20th anniversary of the devastating 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The series will take a look at the quake's history, its effects and its legacy on the people of Southern California. You can view more stories on our Northridge Anniversary page. Let us know what you think on our Facebook page, on and in the comments below.
Twenty years ago this Friday, the Northridge Earthquake struck.
RELATED: The Northridge Earthquake 20 years later
The quake caused $20 billion dollars in damage, much of it to buildings. This week, we're looking at the ways we are and are not prepared for a similar disaster now.
Cities — including LA — have encouraged homeowners to voluntarily retrofit their dwellings to make them better able to withstand shaking. But as KPCC's Sanden Totten reports, there are no mandatory state standards for such work. And many retrofits may not be up to the task.
Have you retrofitted your home against seismic risk? Are you confident it's now safe? Let us know on our Facebook page, on Twitter ("@" mention @KPCC) and in the comments below.
A timeline of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake
Introducing KPCC's new Earthquake Tracker
As part of our continuing coverage of the 20th anniversary of Northridge, we've built an Earthquake Tracker on our website. It's an interactive map that keeps a record of all seismic activity in California.
KPCC's news application developer, Chris Keller, joins the show to explain how it works.
Interview Highlights:
On how the mapping tool works:
"We're basically cataloguing earthquakes in California that the United States Geological Survey records. Admittedly, it's very basic right now. After each earthquake, the USGS asks the public for information about whether or not they felt an earthquake. They record information about the earthquake such as the magnitude, the intensity, various other factors and location, obviously. And they make that available to the public in almost a real time format. So we're hitting what is known as an API. It's basically a source of data and we're grabbing that information and storing it in a database and then presenting it to users on our website."
On how to navigate the website:
"When you reach the website for the first time, you're going to find a list of some recent earthquakes and a lot of earthquakes plotted on a map to the right. Again, this is showing earthquakes in California, so as you pan around the map you can find different location of earthquakes. We have grouped them together in areas where there were multiple instances of an earthquake over time. And then just some basic filters or layers that you can add to the map that you can explore, where an earthquake happened in relationship to a fault line. You're able to type in your address or search for your location to find out where you might be in relationship to an earthquake, also in relationship to fault lines. We hope to build this out a little bit further and add some additional layers."
On how frequent earthquakes are in California:
"In prepping this to go live this week, I have been going back the past 30 days or so and routinely finding 800 instances of an earthquake over the last month, just in California, which is a lot. You don't realize that they happen quite as frequent as perhaps one might think."
On what he hopes to add to the tool:
"One of the things we want to do is add additional layers to the map to display different kinds of information. For instance, landslide zones, liquefaction zones so people can sort of see different seismic hazards, as they are called. Another area we would like to add is really to try to create a place, to create a conversation around earthquake preparedness."
This is one in a weeklong series of stories on KPCC leading up to Friday's 20th anniversary of the devastating 1994 Northridge Earthquake. You can view more stories on our Northridge Anniversary page. Let us know what you think on our Facebook page, on and in the comments below.
Why do gays and lesbians smoke more?
Gays, lesbians and bisexuals smoke at a rate more than double that of the heterosexual population in California, according to the state Department of Public Health. In L.A. County, the disparity is not as large, but gay and bisexual adults still smoke at a rate more than 50 percent higher than their straight counterparts, according to the Los Angeles County Health Survey.
Troubled by those rates, L.A. County recently launched a campaign to drive down smoking rates in the gay and lesbian communities, with a particular focus on gay bars in West Hollywood and Long Beach.
KPCC's Adrian Florido reports.
Should LAUSD expand its iPad program?
The L.A. Unified School Board is voting today on whether to buy more iPads.
Superintendent John Deasy is asking for 96,000 new tablets for students and teachers. But with all the controversy that has so far surrounded the iPad program, debate is likely to be robust.
For more on the program, we're joined now by KPCC's education reporter Annie Gilbertson.
LA Public Library hopes to help high school dropouts earn their diplomas
The library is a place to check out books, rent DVDs for free and surf the web. Now the library is also a place to get a high school diploma.
Last week, the LA Public Library announced a new program to help high school drop outs earn their diploma through online classes and academic assessments. For free.
"It isn't a GED, it's an actual high school diploma, and what I think is the public library again embracing its role of life long learning," said John Szabo, city librarian for L.A. "We really want individuals who enter enrollment to be the most likely to be able to actually get that diploma."
The pilot program will begin with 150 slots at a cost of $150,000 to the library. Prospective students can sign up on the library's website, complete an assessment tool and enter enrollment.
Once enrolled, students will be matched with an online academic coach who will pull transcripts and explain what courses need to be taken for completion.
"It's a fairly rigorous academic program, there is testing and assessment along the way," said Szabo. "As they go through each course, they'll complete it, earn that credit, then move on to the next one that they need until they are able to get the diploma."
Those who are not admitted into the first run of the program will be connected with recourses to earn a GED or other opportunities. Szabo says he hopes the program will also help educate people on the various workforce services the library offers.
"I think of the public library, in addition to being an information organization, a learning organization, we're absolutely an arts organization, I think we're a workforce development organization," said Szabo. "A GED is wonderful and I think it's a very powerful tool, this is an accredited diploma, which I think does have a great deal of strength in the work fo
New law gives midwives more rights, allows home birth for low-income women
We've covered a lot of the new laws that took effect at the beginning of the year, like the plastic bag ban, here in LA, and the transgender bathroom laws in public schools around the state.
Another new law now gives midwives more autonomy. They are able to do their work to work without the supervision of a doctor, and the law also covers more low-income women who want to have their babies at home.
The California Report's health reporter April Dembosky has more.
Three-year-old Liam Vezino remembers the night his baby sister was born. It was just after his bedtime when his mother, Brooke, went into labor. She sat in a water tub set up on the kitchen floor of their home in Santa Rosa trying to get comfortable. She was surrounded by her husband, mom, best friend, midwife and little Liam, who refused to go to sleep.
“He rubbed my head and my shoulders,” Brooke Vezino remembers, cuddling Liam on her lap.
“You forgot something!” he interrupts, lowering his voice to a whisper. “The cake part.”
With his grandmother’s help, Liam baked a chocolate birthday cake for his new sister, Solome. The whole scene was exactly what Vezino wanted out of the birth experience.
But technically, it was illegal.
Vezino’s midwife, Constance Rock, was working without the supervision of a doctor. California state law required such oversight for the last 20 years, but it was impossible for midwives to find doctors willing to do it.
“Malpractice insurance policies won’t cover a physician that has anything to do with out-of-hospital births,” Rock says.
The California Medical Board realized it was impossible for midwives to comply with the law. So last year they suggested changing it. Doctors took the lead in drafting a bill. They didn't want to take the blame if a woman got transferred to the hospital under a midwife’s care and something went wrong.
“If a physician is 1 percent responsible, but a midwife has no liability insurance, the physician can be on the hook for all the economic damage,” said, Shannon Smith-Crowley, a lobbyist for the California chapter of the Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Doctors got no break on the liability issue in the final version of the law. Trial lawyers involved in the drafting process wanted to protect their right to sue well-funded hospitals and vowed to block any law that restricted that.
But midwives emerged with a list of new freedoms that went effect Jan. 1. Rock says the biggest change was doing away with doctor supervision. As a result midwives can now accept Medi-Cal coverage, giving low-income women the option of having a home birth.
“Now we’re in a situation where we can create more equity, where any woman who chooses it can have that kind of care,” she says.
The law also authorizes midwives to order ultrasounds, drugs and lab tests for their clients. Before the law, Rock’s requests were often turned down. That left one of her clients jumping through hoops to get a genetic screening test.
“That mom had to find a physician willing to see her, wait to get in to see the physician to order the test, and then it was too late,” she says. “You missed the window where that particular test would be accurate.”
Midwives had to make compromises in the bill, too. They are no longer allowed to care for women pregnant with twins or breech babies. And they are required to send women to a physician if they show signs of abnormalities during their pregnancies.
Doctors also urged women to visit a doctor regularly at the same time they’re seeing a midwife, a move many midwives do not favor, but which Smith-Crowley says can help ease relationships between a woman and doctor should she need to be transferred to a hospital during labor.
“They’ll be better integrated with the medical system so they can get care when they need,” she says.
About 18 percent of women who plan births at home or a birth center in California end up transferring to a hospital, according to a 2011 state summary. Most of those are not emergencies. Only about 8 percent of them ended in a C-section. But midwives are quick to point out that 33 percent of women who plan to have a vaginal birth at a hospital end up getting a C-section.
That was one stat that made Brooke Vezino want a home birth. She’s a doctor, and her obstetrics training in medical school made her vow to stay out of the hospital when she had her own babies.
“The medical students and nurses and doctors put on these full bodysuits and hoods and gowns -- you look like space creatures,” she says. “Literally nobody is looking at the mom, talking to the mom, making eye contact with the mom. Everyone is focused on the vagina.”
She didn’t want that.
“The contrast of that to being in a warm tub of water with my husband behind me, my mom and child standing above me, my midwife and best friend standing in front of me holding my hands, speaking to me lovingly as I’m going through that process,” she says. “It was so different.”
How the 'Black List' can catapult a screenwriter's career
What do the films "Juno", "The Blind Side", "Life of Pi" and "Argo" have in common? They were all on The Black List.
The annual publication highlights the most popular un-produced screenplays in Hollywood, chosen by hundreds of film executives. Over 250 screenplays that have appeared on The Black List have been made into feature films.
Among them, over 150 Academy Award nominations, including three of the last five "Best Picture" Oscars. Franklin Leonard is the founder and CEO of The Black List and joins us now in studio.
UPDATE: Tyro screenwriter goes from UPS truck to Sundance Film Fest
Update:
The Sundance Film Festival wrapped up yesterday. Among the many film fans there was a young man named Matthew Hickman, who had written a few movie scripts of his own.
One of them, titled "A Eulogy for Evelyn Francis," was so good, a longtime producer named Cassian Elwes decided to take Hickman as his guest to Sundance.
We talked to the two of them shortly before they left and I asked Matthew Hickman if there was one person in Park City he really hoped he could meet:
"The only one that I've actually mentioned to Cassian so far and I doubt that i'll actually meet him but it would be cool for several reasons is Robert Redford. Because he started Sundance, because several of his movies have been pretty big influences on me."
We have Matthew back with us now, to find out what happened in Sundance.
Earlier:
Cassian Elwes has produced more than 60 films, including recent hits like "Dallas Buyer's Club," "The Butler," and "All Is Lost." He recently decided he wanted to give back by mentoring an unrepresented writer.
Elwes chose Matthew Hickman — a UPS clerk who moved out here from Georgia — to be his date to the Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off later this week. Though he's thrilled with The Black List now, Hickman began by telling us that his earlier experiences with the site weren't quite as pleasant.