California had previously created a waiver program for schools to apply to reopen, during which L.A. County allowed the reopening of schools for grades TK-2. The deadline to apply for such waivers ended on Jan. 14, with the caveat that only those schools that had reopened with approved waivers could remain open.
Now, under the current guidelines, any school that had not applied for a waiver, or who had received a waiver but not reopened prior to Jan. 14, would have to wait to reopen in-person instruction for any grade until the case rate in Los Angeles County falls below 25 cases per 100,000 people per day for five consecutive days.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón came to the job promising sweeping changes, and so far he’s been true to his word. Since he took office in December, the new DA has instituted a dizzying number of changes from revoking cash bail to banning new death sentences, generating considerable controversy in the process. He recently came under fire from gay rights advocates for scrapping sentencing enhancements for hate crimes, and was rapped by his own deputy DAs for dismissing gang enhancements and firearm allegations from pending criminal proceedings. But it’s a change to the department’s parole procedures, quietly announced last December 7, that may set off the biggest firestorm yet.
.
An unhappy U.S. District Judge David Carter called elected officials from the city and county of Los Angeles to a hearing Thursday morning at the Downtown Women s Center on Skid Row.
Carter is overseeing a March 2020 lawsuit by a coalition of downtown business and homeowners, which argues that conditions on L.A. s streets are inhumane, and tax money spent on homeless response has been wasted.
Local leaders and homeless advocates testified a few feet away from Skid Row encampments, and the hearing was broadcast over a sound system so people on the street could listen and react. Occasional cheers or declarations such as I love you, Judge! could be heard throughout the official proceedings.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials will attend parole hearings in the absence of prosecutors who aren’t allowed to show up under District Attorney George Gascón’s administration, according to Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
In a letter to Gascón Wednesday, the sheriff said that if deputy district attorneys will no longer be allowed to attend the hearings, “The LASD will do everything possible to give victims a voice at the table to address their concerns” despite “the lack of funding and resources in my department.”
Villanueva said department officials will attend virtual parole hearings or have investigators travel to in-person hearings, as well as continue to write letters in opposition to the administration’s policy.