From intern to lawyer: Poly grad joins city prosecutor s office with a mission to help his hometown • Long Beach Post News lbpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lbpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The pilot project would help the unhoused resolve infractions and misdemeanors like vagrancy, vandalism, and drug possession, and direct them to counseling services.
Councilwoman Stacy Mungo Flanigan is proposing the city waive the $100 permit fees this year for block parties as a way to get more eyes on the streets, she said Wednesday.
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Starting this week, anyone facing of a misdemeanor in Long Beach will now be considered for the program if there’s evidence the defendant has a mental health condition or substance-abuse disorder, City Prosecutor Doug Haubert announced Tuesday.
Before, the program known as Priority Access Diversion (PAD) was only open to people who were already in custody and were facing a minimum of one year in county jail.
Haubert’s office created PAD in 2018 to offer repeat offenders with drug and mental health problems the option of going into live-in treatment programs instead of jail. Most people who’ve taken advantage of the PAD program so far have done so after having charges filed or after being convicted, but Haubert said his office is working to offer the option to more people soon after they’re arrested or cited before their cases even makes it to a courtroom.
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Navigating these gray areas within the city of Long Beach has led to priorities that in some cases are very different from the county and state.
And while the city has won wide praise and national attention for its aggressive vaccination program, its vaccination decisions also have led to accusations of politicking, favoritism and exclusion of groups who play a big part in the city’s ability to function.
Consider:
Members of the Long Beach City Council were vaccinated against COVID-19 because they were deemed critical to the continuity of government. But that priority ranking has not been extended to most of their staff members, who handle day-to-day dealings with the public.