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tricityvoice.com
January 7, 2025
Vol. 24 No. 2
New law could help tenants facing eviction stay in their homes
California bans schools from forcing teachers to ‘out’ LGBTQ students
RESPONSE TIME DOUBLED FROM FIVE DAYS TO 10
ADVOCATES SAY THE NEW LAW CONSIDERS STUDENTS’ PRIVACY
By FELICIA MELLO, CalMatters
BY CAROLYN JONES, Calmatters
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Tenant advocates suffered a big defeat this fall when California voters decided against expanding cities’ ability to limit rent increases. But a state law set to take effect Jan. 1 will give renters facing eviction a little more breathing room. The law doubles the time tenants have to respond after receiving an eviction notice from five business days to ten. Lawyers who work with renters say that what may seem like a minor procedural change could make a big difference in allowing people to stay in their homes. Tenants who are served an eviction notice and don’t respond in writing within the legal timeframe can lose their case by default, potentially incurring financial penalties and a black mark on their record that affects their future ability to obtain housing. That’s true even if a tenant has a valid legal defense – for example, if their landlord increased the rent above state limits or refused to fix problems like lack of heat or broken door locks. About 40% of California tenants lose their cases this way, researchers have estimated. “Five days has never been enough for a tenant to find legal assistance and try to decipher the complaint filed against them, find out what kind of defenses they have, fill out the paperwork and make it to court,” Lorraine López, a senior attorney with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, told CalMatters earlier this fall. Access to legal services varies widely across California. San Francisco guarantees legal representation to any tenant facing eviction, and in other cities like Oakland and Los Angeles, robust networks of probono lawyers help renters file responses. But Californians who live in so-called “legal deserts” – often in rural areas – must travel many miles to meet with an attorney. Tenants with lawyers are less likely to get locked out of their homes, some studies have
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Amid a flurry of recent school board policies aimed at the rights of transgender students, California passed a new law in July that prevents schools from requiring staff to notify parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ. The new law, AB 1955, came in response to a handful of school boards adopting policies that require teachers and other school staff to notify parents if a student identifies as a gender other than what’s on their school records. “Teachers can still talk to their parents,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press conference on Monday in which he touted a new plan to improve career opportunities for adults. “What they can’t do is fire a teacher for not being a snitch. I don’t think teachers should be gender police.” LGBTQ advocates said that “forced outing” policies, such as those adopted in Chino, Temecula and a dozen other districts, infringe on students’ privacy and could potentially harm students whose parents disapprove of their identity. The state sued to stop Chino’s policy, and most districts either scrapped their policies, tweaked the language or put them on hold. This act “could not be more timely or necessary, and LGBTQ+ students across California can breathe a sigh of relief,” Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, which advocates for LGBTQ rights, wrote. “LGBTQ+ youth can now
María Vela assembles a cardboard box as her family gets ready to move out of their home of nearly 30 years in East Los Angeles on Dec. 17, 2023. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters continued on page 5
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Alameda County has seen one of the most dramatic jumps in retail theft. Photo courtesy of Lucky 7 Cigarettes
Tough on crime WILL THE PASSAGE OF PROP. 36 MAKE THE EAST BAY SAFER FROM RETAIL THEFT? By JANIS MARA Oanh Trinh watched in horror as thieves drove an SUV through two security gates and rifled her Oakland business, Lucky 7 Cigarettes, early one morning in October. The livestreamed security cam footage on her phone told the story: Like so many others in the East Bay and the state, she was the victim of retail theft. Such crimes have soared across California, and Alameda County has seen one of the most dramatic jumps. Between 2019 and 2023, retail theft—both shoplifting and commercial burglaries—increased 65% in the county. These are the grim realities that political experts say led voters to pass Prop. 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act. The measure allows felony charges for certain drug and theft crimes, and increases penalties for those crimes if the defendant has two prior convictions. In Alameda County, voters passed the proposition by a 62% margin—and all 58 of the state’s counties passed it. The proposition went into effect statewide on Dec. 18. The passage of the bill signals a shift by California voters, who in 2014 passed Prop. 47, which reduced certain crimes from felonies to misdemeanors in hopes of reducing the number of people in prison. Prop. 36 changes the older proposition to deal with repeat offenders. Whether Prop. 36—which also addresses drug offenses—will actually deter retail theft is still to be seen. “When you look at the research, it’s the likelihood of being apprehended that has an impact on whether a particular policy is going to prevent crime,” said Magnus Lofstrom, criminal justice policy director for the Public Policy Institute of California.
“That is more likely to be an effective strategy than harsher penalties extending the length of the sentence. The likelihood of apprehension, ‘I’m going to get caught for one of these crimes,’ is a factor that has a possible effect on criminal behavior,” Lofstrom said. The policy director named two factors he said will affect whether the measure will succeed as a deterrent. “It will depend on law enforcement. Will police make more arrests for retail theft?” Lofstrom said. “It also depends on the prosecutors. When police make an arrest and refer it for prosecution, how will the district attorneys charge the cases?” Supporters of the measure say it will incentivize officers to make arrests and create a greater deterrent for serial thieves. A Vallejo police spokesman said Vallejo officers are already making arrests for retail theft when called for. “If someone commits a crime, say shoplifting, we’re going to arrest them. And it’s also a property crime, so the retail store will have to want to press charges. If the store wants to press charges, the suspect will get arrested,” said Vallejo police Sgt. Rashad Hollis, the department’s public information officer. “You call 911, and if we can determine a crime occurred, there will be an arrest,” Hollis said. The passage of the measure has brought about a change in Vallejo police procedure, he said. “Now, under Proposition 36, we will run a criminal history on suspects to determine if they have prior convictions. If so, now they can be charged with a felony instead of a misdemeanor if they have two or more convictions.” A Berkeley police officer said the department received a bulletin from the state Department of Justice Law Enforcement Division Dec. 13 briefing officers on the measure. It highlights changes including the removal of eligibility for the sentences of certain offenses to be served in county
Supporters of transgender rights gathered at the Capitol during a press conference by Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, where he announced legislation to provide refuge to out-of-state transgender kids and their parents. March 17, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
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