SEE PAGE3 FOR law to improve probate process
SEE PAGE 3 for national award for diversity for california MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2015 - JANUARY 25, 2015
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Police arrest more men involved in prostitution than prostitutes by Vickie Vértiz State data recently released shows that Orange Country police are arresting less women and more men who are involved in sex work, said the Register. One reason for the change is that some agencies now consider sex workers as “victims of abuse rather than criminals,” said the paper, and are connecting some women with counseling and not jail. County agencies, in 2013, recorded the “fewest female arrests since 2001 and the most male arrests since 2006,” said the paper. However, arrests for women still “eclipsed male arrests,” but the gap was the smallest it has been in ten years. “You will see a trend for more male arrests, because [officers are] going after those who put the girls on the streets,” Anaheim police spokesman Lieutenant Bob Dunn told the Register. “[…] our focus […] countywide is getting […] to those individuals instead of trying to arrest our way out of this problem.” Police have tried every
ing to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 50,000 more workers were added to employers’ payrolls during October and November than economists originally calculated. December’s 5.6% unemployment rate was down from Please see page 2
Please see page 4
male police forces which would have to find female officers to arrest pimps, said the paper. From 2003 and 2012, Orange County saw that 76 percent of the prostitution arrests involved women. That data decreased Please see page 4
U.S. Ended 2014 With Lowest Unemployment Rate Since 2008; Cypress follows trend by Courtney alexander The U.S. finished the year strong, with December bringing a six year low for unemployment of 5.6% according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. December was just the icing on the cake; this year being the best hiring year for the United States since 1999 Last month brought over
252,000 new jobs, making December the eleventh straight month of over 200,000 hires, the longest streak since 1994. October’s and November’s numbers were revised and higher than previously reported, up to +261,000 from +243,000 and up +353,000 plus +321,000 nonfarm jobs respectively, accord-
Significant Drops in Suspensions and Expulsions for Second Year in a Row State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced a dramatic 20 percent drop in the number of students expelled in 2013-14 and a 15.2 decline in the number of students suspended. This marks the second year in a row of declines in both areas. The new figures come at a time when the California Department of Education (CDE) is working with districts around the state to implement innovative programs that reduce suspensions and expulsions, including some known as “restorative justice.” “These numbers show that the work of the department, districts, teachers, parents, and students around the state is paying off by keeping more students in school and learning,” said Torlakson. “You can have the best facilities, the best teachers, and the best curriculum in the world, but none of that matters if students are not in school. That’s why we have put so much effort into increasing school attendance and reducing expulsions and suspensions and will continue to do so.” Statewide, 49,987 fewer students were suspended in 201314 compared to the year before, down 15.2 percent. The suspension rate is 4.4 percent, down 0.7 of a percentage point from the year before. Similarly, 1,655
- Photo by Michael Gagnon
strategy to deter prostitution including cracking down on each component of the sex work economy which includes the sellers, buyers, and organizers, or as the paper called them, pimps. Sex workers are the easiest to find given predominantly
VOLUME 2, NO. 3
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Mike Gatto Introduces Legislation to Dramatically Improve Probate Process, Cut Fees for Families To pass the contents of a bank account, a prized automobile, or a multi-million-dollar stock account upon your death, all you need to do is fill out a form. These "Payable On Death" transfers help families avoid the ridiculously high fees and time-consuming bureaucracy of probate. Even though family members can easily deed a house to a loved one while alive, there is no easy way in California to do so upon death. On January 9th, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) introduced legislation to rem-
edy this, and to remove a layer of stress and bureaucracy for grieving families. Assembly Bill 139 would create a “Revocable Transfer on Death (TOD) Deed” in California, allowing a homeowner to specify who their house should be deeded to upon passing. AB 139 would also relieve California’s already overburdened court system. Over twenty states already allow such transfers. “Government should not add to the headaches and familial hardship caused by the death of a family member,”
said Gatto. “Just like a person can designate a bank account to go to a loved one upon death, by allowing individuals to transfer property cleanly using a TOD Deed, we can avoid the costly probate process and give families greater peace of mind.” The legislation comes after a recommendation by the California Law Revision Commission that the legislature look to the experiences of other states and provide this more streamlined option for those making estate plans.
“One of the primary roles of the legislature should be to make life easier for the average Californian. By helping Californians avoid government bureaucracy and probate fees, AB 139 will do just that,” said the Assemblyman. “Estate planning and the probate process are daunting tasks for families to face, even under the easiest of circumstances. Giving Californians access to a Revocable Transfer on Death Deed will go a long way towards avoiding some of the hassle of settling a loved one’s affairs.”
Umemployment Rate Lowest Since 2008 Continued from page 1
November’s 5.8%. The U.S. hasn’t seen unemployment rates that low since June 2008. White House Council of Economic Advisors chairman, Jason Furman noted that the 1.2% drop in unemployment from 2013 to 2014 was the largest decrease since 1984. Cities in Orange County also followed that trend: Cypress’, Anaheim’s, Buena Park’s, Cerritos’ and other surrounding cities’ most recent unemployment rates have been the lowest since the sum-
mer of 2008. That unemployment rate however, was in part, due to increasing numbers of people leaving the labor force, or the number of people outside of the military who are either working or looking for work. Even though employment grew by 111,000, the number of people who are unemployed fell by over three times that amount. Many of the people who left the labor force within the last 4 weeks just gave up on finding a job, therefore not qualifying
them to be counted as “unemployed”, and instead making them “discouraged workers”. The number of discouraged workers grew by 42,000 to 720,000 last month. Wages also fell 5 cents in December. “There’s still no sign of wage acceleration. It leaves you scratching your head a little bit,” Stuart Hoffman, PNC Financial Services Group Chief Economist told CNN Money. Still, even with wages falling and increasing numbers of discouraged workers, this year, and December especially, has brought signs of a recovering US economy. Between January 2008 and February 2010, the US lost 8.7 million jobs. According to the December Bureau of Labor Statistics report, there are now almost 2 million more people employed than there were in 2008. This job growth has happened across multiple sectors. Health care employment was increased by 34,000 last month, with an average growth rate of 24,000 jobs per month in 2014 compared with 17,000 per month in 2013. Construction jobs in December increased by 48,000, “well above the employ-
ment gains in recent months.” according to the BLS report. And despite oil prices dropping from $100 a barrel in the summer to less than $50 now, employment in the oil and gas sectors increased, albeit less in December than in previous months. The increased number of energy sector workers despite the oil crisis is “a testament to the underlying health of the U.S. economy” according to Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. In November, California had the highest over the month increase in employment of any state, adding over 90,000 jobs, followed by Florida, adding almost 42,000, and Texas, adding almost 35,000 jobs. As of November, California’s unemployment rate is at 7.2%, down 0.1% from the previous month, and the lowest rate since June 2008. From October 2014 to November 2014, Los Angeles County added 29,400 nonfarm jobs to total 4,253,900, and had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8%, a drop from 9.4% in November of 2013. While hurdles remain, recent trends show a positive outlook for the US workforce.
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State California Offers First Partnership Leadership Conference for Arts, Receives Media, and Entertainment are invited to sign ees can share strategies for impleNational upArts,Educators for California’s inaugural menting the new AME standards Media, and Entertainment in classrooms, review high-quality (AME) Institute on curriculum, and share data about Award for April 7–8,Leadership 2015 in San Diego. AME. There will also be a speis a professional learning cial focus on the Career Pathway Diversity This opportunity where teachers, ad- Game Design and Integration. The CDE’s California Partnership Academy (CPA) and the State Bar of California’s collaborative Law and Legal Services Academies received the American Bar Association’s Alexander Award this month for their work to support racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession. The CDE worked with the State Bar to develop the CPA Law and Legal Services Academy program designed to encourage underrepresented student groups to enter the legal profession, ranging from legal assistants to judges. Another goal is to diversify the legal profession to reflect the population they serve. There are currently 10 such academies statewide. The CDE and the State Bar will accept the award on behalf of the academies this year at a meeting in Houston, Texas. A CPA is a three-year program structured as a schoolwithin-a-school. CPAs integrate academic and career technical education, business partnerships, mentoring, and internships. The program gives students handson, real-world experience that prepares them for college and careers. CPAs are designed for disadvantaged students at-risk of dropping out of school. The program has been very successful with CPA students passing at higher rates that non-CPA students in the High School Exit Exam, graduation rates, and meeting college entrance requirements. The creation of the CPA Law and Legal Services Academies furthers Torlakson’s Career Readiness initiative designed to strengthen career technical education in California.
ministrators, and industry professionals can share strategies on how to better prepare students for careers in AME. Because California is a world leader in the entertainment and creative industries, what students should know to be “career ready” in AME is included in the state’s Career Technical Educational Model Curriculum Standards. There is room for 100 participants in the Institute. Attend-
This program is designed to help students chart the classes they need in high school and postsecondary education to prepare for work in a particular industry. The AME Institute furthers State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s Core Reforms Engaging Arts to Educateinitiative to build awareness that teaching the arts is essential to a well-rounded education and supports the state’s economy.
Long Beach Office 3780 Kilroy Airport Way Suite 360 Long Beach, CA 90806 Ph. (562) 472-0071 Fx. (562) 689-0071 Los Angeles Office 5701 South Eastern Avenue Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90040 Ph. (323) 727-1144 Fx. (323) 727-9198 www.heger-industrial.com Lic. #00814086
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Significant Drops in Suspensions and Expulsions Continued from page 1
fewer students were expelled in 2013-14 compared to the year before, down 20 percent. The expulsion rate remains at 0.1 percent because the overall numbers are relatively small. To reduce the number of expulsions and suspensions, the CDE has taken several steps, including hosting a forum and workshops, and posting Behavioral Intervention Strategies and Supports. In addition, the CDE has worked with several education groups to develop restorative justice programs that promote respect, taking responsi-
Tom Torlakson
-Photo by Terry Miller
bility, and strengthening relationships. Before such programs were implemented, the greatest percentage of students suspended or expelled was for “willful defiance.” For the second year in a row, the highest percentage declines came under this category. Last year, 261 fewer students were expelled for defiance-related offenses, down 47.7 percent from the year before. Another 76,296 fewer students were suspended for defiance-related offenses, down 28.9 percent from the year before. Willful defiance became identified with the problem of high rates of expulsions and suspensions after the CDE reported a high number of minority students were suspended for this cause. Those figures helped spur the passage of Assembly Bill 420, supported by the CDE and sponsored by former Assembly member Roger Dickinson. The bill, signed into law last year, limits suspensions and expulsions for disruptive behavior in certain grades. Suspensions for more serious federal offenses were down by thousands among every student subgroup. However, a disparity remains among AfricanAmerican students’ rates of suspension, which were relatively unchanged from the year before. African-American students are 6.2 percent of total enrollment, but make up 16.4 percent
of students suspended, up 0.2 of a percentage point from the year before. White students are 25 percent of total enrollment, but make up 20.6 percent of students suspended, down 0.3 of a percentage point from the year before. Hispanic students are 53.3 percent of total enrollment, but make up 54.7 percent of suspensions, up 0.1 of a percentage point from the year before. This is the second year of declines. Between 2011-12 and 2012-13, the number of expulsions dropped 13.5 percent, while the number of suspensions decreased 10.2 percent. Data collected through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) enabled the CDE to report detailed data for the third year in a row. Prior to the collection of these data in CAL-
PADS, they were collected differently as aggregate counts, so the 2013-14 data may only be compared to the two prior years and cannot be compared accurately to prior years’ suspension and expulsion data. The data presented here were for “unduplicated” counts of students suspended or expelled. This means although a student may have been suspended or expelled more than once, each student was only counted once. The suspension and expulsion data are available on the CDE’s DataQuest. Downloadable data files are available at the CDE’s Expulsion and Suspension Data Web page. Truancy data are collected through the California Basic Educational Data System Online Reporting Application and are still being tabulated.
Prostitution Arrests Continued from page 1
to 64 percent in 2013, which is a huge decline after very little change in the last ten years. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force led by Anaheim police are both leading the effort to switch strategies around decreasing prostitution. In April of 2013, Rackauckas created a unit targeting johns and pimps, while simultaneously briefing police to treat sex workers like potential victims. “Most of times […], she [is] a broken girl who [has] been used and abused by men,” Susan Kang Schroeder told the paper, chief of staff for Rackauckas. Proposition 35 increased penalties for human trafficking and created safeguards for victims and this prompted creation of the unit, said the Register. If they are determined to be traf-
ficking victims, prostitutes are supposed to be protected from prosecution. The unit has 62 felony convictions, Schroeder told the paper, locking up some pimps for four to six years. Linh Tran, the lead administrator for the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, said the longtime focus of the county on arresting women was not effective. Hundreds of women were arrested annually but did not generate permanent results in reduction of sex work. Tran added that it was “too soon to say whether the new focus” of the county on arresting men is a more effective crime deterrent, “but at least officers are treating women with more dignity.” Social workers get connected with prostitutes and help them find employment, housing, and drug addiction counseling, said the paper.