Op-Ed: Brian Thomas Cruz Reflective of New Kind of Homeless

A transient man who went on a crime spree in Pacific Palisades last summer was scheduled for a court appearance today, Jan. 29, and may face a life sentence.

Courtesy of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

Brian Thomas Cruz, , is accused of multiple carjackings, a kidnapping and assaults in relation to the crime spree that began in the Palisades and ended in Malibu on August 11, 2014.

Cruz is also a registered sex offender who was released from prison only a year ago, mere months before committing the recent slew of crimes similar to the ones that got him locked up before.

It’s a familiar cycle for many former inmates, who end up on the streets only to re-offend.

Although his crimes are spectacular in their severity, Cruz is reflective of a new segment of L.A.’s homeless population, made up of those released from the County’s overcrowded jails who end up houseless because of lack of post-release services.

The number of individuals who go from jail to the streets has been steadily increasing since a law called AB 109 or the “prison realignment law” was passed by legislators in 2011.

Supporters of the law touted “no inmates currently in state prison would be transferred to county jails or released early” but they failed to mention what would happen to non-serious offenders released from State custody.

The law, effective as of October 1, 2011, shifted the responsibility of supervising non-serious offenders,i.e. former State inmates, from the state to the county–from State parole agents to County probationer officers.  This has inundated the county’s probation and support services with individuals released from the State prison system.

Individuals, coming out of prison for non-violent and non-sexual crimes, have been supervised by the Los Angeles County Probation Department since October 2011.

Cruz, a registered sex offender who was living about eight feet under someone’s balcony in Pacific Palisades, was part of this overcrowded and understaffed system..

Despite expectations from the state and optimistic projections from legislators that the number of jailed individuals and those on probation would eventually decline post AB-109, both the rate of jailed and supervised has steadily increased since Brown’s law took effect.

L.A. County received an average 1,000 probationers a month for the first six months after realignment went into effect, and that it continues to get about 400 to 500 a month, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

Six months prior to the August incident, Cruz, like many others, was released from State custody and placed in L.A. County hands and similar to others, did not receive proper post-release supervision or mental health services. The L.A.  County Probation Department has refused to release records about Cruz’s probationary status citing medical confidentiality laws.

Mental health and homeless advocates say that the problem is that the County does not have enough services available for people once they are released from county and state custody.

Jails are often misused as places to send those who need mental health care rather than incarceration but there is hope for L.A. via a county program launched quietly last year.

The Third District Diversion and Alternative Sentencing Program in Los Angeles County aims at keeping those who are chronically homeless, seriously mentally ill, and who commit non-violent crimes out of jail.

County officials created the program because they found that  incarceration disrupted the treatment of those who have mental health problems “in the community, exacerbating symptoms, contributes to or perpetuates homelessness and impedes recovery.” See documents page for more work cited.

L.A. Receives Funding to Help Chronically Homeless

A day before the homeless count begins in Pacific Palisades, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority will receive $91.9 million in funding to help the homeless.

The bulk of the federal money, $10.1 million, is earmarked for 550 units of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals.

A homeless man outside the outside the United Nations building in New York with the American flag in the background.
By C. G. P. Grey

While the money will help attain units, local task force members, and others trying to help the houseless will still have the challenge of convincing those who are chronically homeless to seek help.

The remainder of the funding will go to 231 other projects in the City of Los Angeles and other portions of the County

The grant comes at a critical time, LAHSA Commission Chair Kerry Morrison told local media.

“On the eve of the homeless count, where we so clearly see the need for more resources in L.A. County … (the award) presents a significant and much-needed boost,” Morrison said.

The Pacific Palisades Taskforce on Homelessness plans on continuing to address the issue of homelessness long after the local count takes place tomorrow morning.

Northeast Blizzard Grounds LAX Flights

Palisadians heading to or coming from the East Coast will most likely experience long travel delays Tuesday as blizzard conditions in the Northeast of the county have led to more than 110 flight cancellations at Los Angleles International Airport.

By 10 a.m., more than 100 flights heading to or coming from the east remained cancelled. To see a list of the cancelled flights go to flightaware.com.

Passengers are urged to contact their airlines for specific flight information before heading to the airport, according to LAX airport authorities.

Nationwide more than 4,000 flight cancellations were reported because of the Northeast Blizzard.

Homeless Count Volunteers Still Needed, says Council President

Dear Friends,

The Pacific Palisades Homeless Count  is coming next week, from 5 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Jan. 29. All volunteers will meet between 5 and 5:30 a.m. at Palisades High School’s Mercer Hall. After a one-hour training from LAHSA personnel, groups of 3-5 people will deploy at 6:30 a.m.

If you are able to volunteer but have not yet signed up, please do so here: http://lahsa.nationbuilder.com/pacific_palisades.

Join the PP Homeless Task Force on January 29 for this important civic service!

In addition:  The last Task Force meeting before the count will be held at the Palisades Library Meeting room, Tuesday, Jan. 27 from 6:30-8 p.m. The agenda will include an update from all the sub-committees on Task Force Activities, as well as an overview of the process for the Count on the 29th and a chance to sign up to be part of it.  All are welcome!

Finally, if you can donate (or have a connection to a local bakery or store which might be able to donate) food items and/or coffee for the volunteers on Jan. 29, please contact pacpalihtf@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Chris Spitz

President

Pacific Palisades Community Council

info@pacpalicc.org

Palisades Forms Tax District to Help Promote Local Businesses

A Business Improvement District (BID) in Pacific Palisades is a step closer to being realized after property owners representing more than 50.1 percent of the commercial land in the district approved the plan via a petition.

Billionaire L.A. Developer Rick Caruso said he would support the idea of forming a commercial district in the Palisades and two weeks later in mid-January news of the BID approval went public.

Caruso is in the process of “Grove-fying” a large section of the Palisades’ commercial district along Swarthmore Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, which will revitalize part of the commercial area and redefine the Palisades.

See Caruso’s plans here http://www.palisadesvillageca.com/.

“The property owners came together and realized that [a BID] would help improve the Village and make it a better place for tenants and business and make it a better community to shop in,” said Laurie Sale, who has been working with the group.

BIDs are city-supported financing organizations made up of property owners and are established within contiguous boundaries, said Sale.

SEE MAP OF PROPOSED BID HERE

The organizations raise funds through fees assessed to property owners, which are invested back into the commercial communities they serve.  The Palisades BID consists of 72 parcels and 2,507,117 square-feet of lot space.  Its boundaries consist of both sides of Sunset from Carey Street west to Via de la Paz, including parcels on Monument, La Cruz, Swarthmore and Via de la Paz.

Sale did not disclose how each property owner voted but she did say that developer Rick Caruso, who recently closed escrow on 2.77 acres of commercial land within the boundaries of the proposed BID, supported the effort.

According to the Pacific Palisades’ district management plan, a three-tier system will be used to assess the property owners within the district boundaries using a formula that incorporates “parcel square footage, building square footage and linear front footage.”

Sale said the formula would break down the assessment fees into thirds: 34 percent for frontage, 33 percent building, and 33 percent lot size.

“Property owners came together and realized that this would help improve the village and make it a better place for tenants and business and make it a better community to shop in,” Sale said.

The Pacific Palisades BID’s annual operating budget would be about $148,000, Sale said.

Funds raised through the assessment fees would be used to pay for tree trimming, beautification and improving pedestrian walkways, she said.

Money raised would also be used for marketing campaigns and other promotional efforts, such as social media campaigns, to help businesses within the district, Sale added.

‘The effort would augment the work of the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce,” Sale said.

Since BIDs are a tax district, their establishment requires significant coordination with the City Clerk’s office, a public hearing process and approval by the City Council.

Once approved, Sale said the BID would likely not be fully implemented until January of 2016.

The BID’s leadership would consist of a board of directors made of assessed property owners, a member from the chamber of commerce and a representative from local businesses

The meetings would be open to the public and brown acted.

Property owners will still have to cast a vote as part of the Prop 218 ballot initiative before the BID can be officially finalized, Sale said.  The ballot is expected to take place sometime in February.

The ballot vote would be based on a majority vote by  property owners and not contingent on the assessed property owned by each voting member.

Local Politics: Chamber Head Clashes with Council

Sparks flew between the newly installed president-elect of the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce and members of the Pacific Palisades Community Council on Thursday.

The 30-year-old president-elect began his theatrical tirade against the Council during a presentation by Jim Rea, a former council member, and community volunteer.

Rea was sharing the findings of a poll on community issues in which more 300 residents participated.

Glazer took issue with the number of participants and called it an inaccurate representation of the near 30,000 residents of the Palisades, reported a board member.

“Hasn’t he heard of Gallup polls?” said a board member, who opted to stay anonymous.

Often cited by news organizations, Gallup U.S. daily polls interview about 500 random people across the country to get daily U.S. opinion poll results.

After expressing dissatisfaction with the poll, Glazer took aim at council members accusing them of being disconnected with the greater community.

Glazer, who most were seeing for the first time, said the group catered to the “old guard” and was “out of touch with the younger Palisades generation.”

After more shouts and looks of disbelief from people in the room, Council Treasurer Richard G. Cohen fired back at Glazer and said older folks participate more because they care about their communities.

Cohen’s comments further fueled the heated confrontation and also drew in Glazer’s wife into the debate, whose only  message boiled down to “we are young” and “you are old.”

Council President Chris Spitz attempted to diffuse the situation, but nothing she said seemed to calm the heated back-and-forth down, so exaggerated that it seemed almost staged.

Spitz highlighted the council’s outreach efforts, which include social media and a campaign presence at the Pacific Palisades Farmers Market, but the friction in the atmosphere remained palpable.

The debate ended when Spitz moved onto to the next agenda topic, a presentation about guidelines that could restrict the Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village Project.

Lawsuit Claims Real Estate Agent Preyed on WWII Veteran

A lawsuit filed against Coldwell Banker claims one of the company’s real estate agents used predatory and manipulative sales tactics against an 88-year-old Palisadian man who suffers from dementia.

Filed in May of 2014, the lawsuit alleges Lisa Hay Morrin, a Palisades-based real estate agent with Coldwell Banker, solicited the plaintiff, Anthony Hacche, about two dozen times between 2004 and 2013 to sell his home.

The lawsuit accuses Morrin of a breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and the intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Pacific Palisades is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country.

“Each time, plaintiff indicated that he was not interested in selling” and “communicated specific reasons for his lack of intent to sell his home,” plaintiff alleges in the lawsuit.

Regardless of the man’s disinterest, the complaint alleges that Morrin kept pressuring him until he buckled and accepted an offer of $1.5 million, according to the complaint.

The home is located in the 900 block of Fisk Street. The lawsuit claims the agent told the plaintiff the potential buyer had pulled the $1.5 million offer off the table because the lot was too small.

According to the lawsuit, Hacche now believes the offer was a ruse to motivate him into selling his home. He declined.

Undeterred, Morrin presented another unsolicited offer to Hacche, this time from another prospective buyer.

The second offer was for $1.375 million, which was $125,000 less than the offer a week prior. Hacche did not respond to Morrin’s attempts.

A week later, Morrin presented another offer to Hacche, who has been diagnosed with dementia. This time for $1.325 million–a full $50,000 less than the offer a week prior, according to the allegations.

Morrin, who was once Hacche’s neighbor, called him again, urging him to make a counter offer to the buyer, which he eventually made for $1.35 million.

“When Plaintiff (Hacche) later informed Ms. Morrin that he wanted to cancel the transaction, Ms. Morrin, in continued breach of her fiduciary duties and in exercising undue influence, threatened PLAINTIFF from cancelling and failed to inform PLAINTIFF of the methods and ramifications of cancelling the contract,” the lawsuit claims.

Real estate agents in California are not permitted to perform transactions without the supervision of a broker. Coldwell Banker should have had a broker present during this sale, said Craig Hacche, the Plaintiff’s son.

The lawsuit also alleges that Morrin exerted undue influence on Hacche, who was vulnerable to pressure due to his age, and physical and mental health. Hacche’s dementia made him particularly susceptible to Morrin’s predatory tactics, according to the lawsuit.

Hacche had to pay $150,000 to the developer in order to keep the home he has lived in for decades and had paid off long ago. He was forced to take out a reverse mortgage to pay the developer and to cover the legal costs incurred, said Craig Hacche.

The agent should have taken note of his age and mental faculties, he said.

“My father came from a simpler time,” he said. “He is a proud man, stubborn. He didn’t want to call me for help.”

Older homes are often bought by developers, who tear them down to build larger structures for higher returns on their investments, especially in affluent areas like Pacific Palisades.

Morrin could not be reached in time to respond to this post.

Plaintiff has requested a trial by jury, a hearing was scheduled on Jan. 20 and trial date is set for April, 20.

Legal documents cited:

Opposition to Defendant’s Demurer

Hacche – First Amendment Complaint

Longer Overlap Anticipated Between CA Incline and Coastal Interceptor Projects

Santa Monica City officials are expecting a longer overlap between two major construction projects than originally planned, which means more traffic problems for many in the Palisades, especially folks in the canyon.

Creative Commons

The Coastal Interceptor Relief Sewer, which is being spearheaded by the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering with Prop O funding, is behind schedule by 30 days, according to a recent update from officials.

The consensus is that instead of a 30-day overlap between the California Incline and sewer relief projects it will turn into 45 days, adding to the area’s overall traffic issues, said George Wolfberg, a longtime Santa Monica Canyon resident and civic leader.

The Santa Monica City Council will hear the final contract for the construction of the California Incline Project on Jan. 27.

The incline will be shut down sometime in March so that work crews can begin setting up for the yearlong construction job, which will include the installation of traffic and dynamic message signs at key points in the Valley and on PCH in Malibu.

The best case scenario for the project’s completion will be 12 months and the worst 14 months, and over the course of one summer, Wolfberg said.

Who We Are

Hello friends.

We are a small group of peaceful people who believe in Pacific Palisades. We trust in the fact that this is our town.

We are taking an exploratory step toward forming a news cooperative driven by stakeholders and by the love of our local mountains, beaches and history.

We will no longer sit back and fade away without scrutinizing those who try to control our neighborhoods and streets.

We will no longer wait and hope for the best as our views are blocked, our streets congested with traffic and our bluffs destroyed.

We will not be swayed by gossip, advertising or the threat of liability.

We will have our voices heard and solve problems humanely and ethically.

We will clearly label what is opinion and what is fact and strive for accuracy, fairness and objectivity.

We are a collective of peaceful people giving our volunteer time and do not all wish to share our identities as unethical practices have become common place.

Palisadians Will Join Others in L.A. Homeless Count

Volunteers in Pacific Palisades will join others for the Greater Los Angeles homeless count on Thursday, Jan. 29.

Other areas of the City will begin the count in the evening on Jan. 28 but because many transient camps in the Palisades are in brush areas, making them difficult to see at night,  volunteers decided they would start under the light of day.

The tentative plan is for groups of four to five people to begin carpooling out of Palisades Charter High School at 5:30 a.m., according to members of the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness.

Police officials said they will likely have two senior lead police officers present in the morning of the count. With the inclusion of the Palisades, L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin said this is the first time every neighborhood in his district is participating.

The count is an extremely important tool in the fight to end homelessness in our neighborhoods, Bonin said, adding that Palisadians have shown a high degree of civility and compassion in their approach to the situation.

“One of the things we found is when people take part in the count it makes the issue of homelessness less abstract to them and they become more engaged,” Bonin said.

He commended the work of Palisadians Maryam Zar, chair of the Pacific Palisades Taskforce on Homelessness, and co-chairs Kim Clary and Brian Deming, who have worked hard to organize the community.

Data from the count will help determine where resources need to be deployed, Bonin said.

A homeless man outside the outside the United Nations building in New York with the American flag in the background. New York and Los Angeles have the highest number of homeless people in the U.S.
By C. G. P. Grey

A GROWING POPULATION

The previous biannual count shows that there were 58, 423 homeless people living in L.A. County in 2013, which was an increase of about 16 percent from 2011.

The largest concentration of homeless in  L.A. County are in the City of Los Angeles. Unlike other parts of the country, which have seen dramatic decreases in homelessness , L.A. and New York cities have seen steady increases.

The number is expected to be even greater in 2015, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

The number of homeless individuals who have mental and substance abuse problems account for the largest segment of chronic homeless.

The term is used by LASHA workers to describe those who  have been homeless for a longtime, and who often refuse help from service workers.

“The epicenter of homelessness in my district is Venice,” Bonin said.

In the last count, the report found nearly 1,390 people living on the streets of Bonin’s Council District 11, which includes Venice Beach, Brentwood, Mar Vista and the Palisades among others.

The numbers, however, did not account for the “hidden homeless,” such as those living in encampments like those in brush  areas of the Palisades, which will be counted for the first time in the coming count, according to LASHA.

Recent numbers by United Way of Los Angeles indicate the population of homeless in L.A.’s Westside to be more than 5,100 with 1,100 classified as chronic homeless.

LASHA reported more than 7,100 chronic homeless individuals in the last two-year report among the city’s nearly 39,000 homeless. The number is expected to be bigger this year.

NEED FOR FUNDING

George S. McQuade III of the homeless service authority previously said the numbers were indicating a 50 percent jump from the last count.

“There are fewer places for people to go and insufficient resources for people,” Bonin said.  “Los Angeles gets too little federal funding.”

“What we really need is more housing vouchers, “ Bonin said, adding that there is a frighteningly dramatic shortage of vouchers currently available.

The city has enough vouchers for L.A.’s veteran population but there is a shortage of Section 8 and rapid rehousing vouchers, Bonin explained.

However, the voucher program has its own shortfalls.  For example, people with criminal histories, substance problems or bad records of eviction are automatically disqualified for most of the vouchers offered by federal programs, Bonin said.

To really combat homelessness and help people, the approach to the issue needs to change on the local level, Bonin said.

L.A. needs to follow Salt Lake City’s lead and adapt a more aggressive housing-first model and not disqualify those who really need help, Bonin said.

“It is going to be a lot easier for people who suffer from substance abuse problems to get sober with a roof over their heads,” he explained.

From improving L.A.’s housing shortage  to moving toward a coordinated entry system that aims to reintroduce those who have been homeless back into society, the approach has to be multifaceted,  Bonin said.

A coordinated entry system will help rank those who are most in need, Bonin said,  citing the Project 50 program in downtown Los Angeles aimed at the county’s chronic homeless.

L.A. is also in short supply of affordable housing units, which is another issue that must addressed, Bonin said.

The effort needs to be ongoing, Bonin said, adding that his office is committed to the issue and will continue working with the PPTH long after the count is completed.

The taskforce is aiming to recruit about 100 people, they about 40 by mid-January.

Those who wish to get involved with the Pacific Palisades Taskforce on Homelessness can contact the group directly at pacpalihtf@gmail.com.