Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 407
July 27, 2024
Panetta Institute welcomes latest group of Congressional interns
SEASIDE >> In his work at the Panetta Institute at Cal State Monterey Bay, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says his team noted gaps in how students understand “the institutions of democracy.”
To meet that need, more than 25 years ago Panetta and his wife Sylvia began an internship program, sending a group of students to learn and work in the Washington offices of the California congressional delegation. To prepare that cohort of 21 students this year the Institute is bringing in an all-star cast of lecturers to give the students a head start over the next two weeks.
This year’s lecturer lineup features, among others, former presidential candidate Chris Christie, former Vice President Dan Quayle and former University of California President Janet Napolitano.
“The purpose of the Panetta Institute’s Congressional Internship Program is to provide students with the opportunity to work in Washington and experience democracy directly,” Panetta said in a press release. “By education and exposure, we provide interested students from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to participate in our democracy. At the Panetta Institute we believe the purpose of our work is to develop the next generation of leaders.”
Panetta will again lead the course. Other experts lecturing this year include Admiral Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington Post Chief Correspondent Dan Balz, State Senator John Laird and local mayors Ian Oglesby of Seaside and Tyller Williamson of Monterey.
Students are nominated by university presidents from the California State University campuses, the largest state university system in the country, along with St. Mary’s University of Moraga and Santa Clara University. The Panetta Institute covers all expenses associated with the program including tuition, airfare, lodging and a fund for living expenses.
Now in its 26th year, the semester-long public service experience was created by Leon and Sylvia Panetta. The Panetta Institute for Public Policy was established in 1997 by the Panettas and serves as a bipartisan study center to enhance public policy and to attract “thoughtful men and women” to lives of public service.
“At the Panetta Institute we believe young people are the future of our democracy,” said Sylvia Panetta, Institute co-chair and CEO. “We want to ensure they are as prepared as possible to lead.”
For more information about the Congressional Internship Program, or other Institute-sponsored events, please call the Panetta Institute at 831-582-4200 or visit the Institute’s website at www.panettainstitute.org.
Controversial Bay Area horseback riding company investigated for animal neglect following horse death
MILPITAS — Santa Clara County authorities are investigating a controversial Bay Area horseback riding company weeks after a horse under their care allegedly died from neglect.
Chaparral Ranch — which has been at the center of animal abuse allegations for years — called the county’s Animal Control to their Milpitas grazing facility to assist with a downed horse. The responding officers issued a citation to ranch operators for criminal animal neglect, a first for the company, according to Lisa Jenkins, program manager for the county’s Animal Services Center.
Spokesperson Aaron Kinney said the county cannot comment on any details regarding the case because it is an active investigation with the District Attorney’s Office.
Chaparral offers horse riding camps at Marina Equestrian Center in Monterey and Woodside as of July 25.
Those familiar with Chaparral’s animals claim the horse, a female named Honey, was being underfed in Milpitas and had to be euthanized after the county’s visit. Earlier this year, locals like Rebecca Misa had repeatedly flagged down animal services about Honey’s alleged neglect in facilities under Chaparral’s supervision. The San Jose resident, who had first met Honey when she was at the ranch’s Los Gatos stables, said the county did not respond to her concerns. Now, its too late.
“It so completely shocking that so many people have failed her,” Misa said. “She 100% could have been saved.”
Animal neglect refers to an animal that is deprived of basic needs, including food, water, or shelter.
Chaparral co-founders did not respond for comment on the citation.
Misa’s concerns about Chaparral’s mistreatment aren’t new. The company operated for five years out of Golden Gate Park and was once a popular destination for horseback riding in the Bay Area. But a May investigation by the SF Standard revealed operators allegedly mistreated their horses and employees.
Even after employees submitted a 41-page whistleblower report to San Francisco in 2021 describing unsuitable conditions at Chaparral, the city continued to renew the company’s permits at the park and Camp Mather, a family summer camp near Yosemite that is run by the Recreation and Parks Department.
Following the Standard’s investigation, both permits were revoked and the Golden Gate horses moved to Chaparral’s stable at San Mateo County’s Wunderlich Park in Woodside. The stables are still operating, but a renewal of its contract in 2025 is pending.
The board of directors for Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in Los Gatos, where Chaparral’s Bear Creek stables are located, voted in May to delay their decision on closing the stables until an ad hoc committee could fundraise and look for grants that could support the maintenance and repair of the stables. In April, Midpen suspended all camps, trainings, riding instruction and other equestrian events, but the stables are still boarding horses.
Chaparral also offered horse riding summer camps at Ed R. Levin County Park in Milpitas, but the company’s permit with the county expired in April and is no longer operating out of the park. While Chaparral removed Golden Gate and Ed Levin Park from the list of location on their website, the company is still offering horse riding camps at Marina Equestrian Center in Monterey and Woodside as of July 25.
Liza Horvath, Senior Advocate: Releasing a trustee for their work
Question: My brother and I are inheriting from our parents’ trust. A big bank is the trustee and they are telling us we need to sign a full release of them for their work on the trust before they will give us our shares. This seems almost illegal. Can they really hold on to our money until we sign off on their release and promise that we will never sue them?
Answer: Well, the short answer is yes. All bank trustees and most professional licensed trustees will ask beneficiaries to sign a release before they distribute funds out of a trust. As I repeatedly state, the trust and estates area is the most highly litigated area of the law so trustees must be extremely careful in their administration of a trust and cautious when they make distribution of assets.
Think of it this way, if I am acting as a trustee, I have full fiduciary responsibility and liability to the beneficiaries of the trust for my actions. If a beneficiary were to file an action against the trust or against me as trustee, in almost all cases, I can use the money of the trust in defense of the action. If, on the other hand, I have distributed out all the assets and then a beneficiary of the trust sues me, I would have to pay for my defense. Now, if I had made a mistake or if a trustee were to actually breach the terms of trust, then maybe it’s fair that the trustee pays their own legal fees. But, if I did no wrong and a beneficiary decides to initiate an action against me after I’ve distributed out all the funds, it is simply unfair to have to pay legal fees out of my own pocket. Admittedly, if the trustee has done no wrong, the case will not go forward but there are initial legal actions that must be taken to prove that the trustee did no wrong – and those fees would have to be paid by the trustee.
The bank trustee has the right to request that you sign a release. If you do not sign the release, their alternative is to go to court, file their accounting of actions with the court and have the matter heard. Most likely, unless you or your brother object, the court will approve the bank’s actions and that would serve as their release.
It is important to make the distinction, however, that the bank is “requesting” you sign the release and not “demanding” it. They cannot demand you sign the release, but their alternative is to seek court approval which means additional legal and filing fees and further delay.
With the release they are asking you to sign, the bank has probably provided a full accounting to you that outlines the assets of the trust, all income received, payments made on behalf of the trust and the amount they plan to distribute to you and your brother. Review this agreement and the accounting carefully. When you sign the release, it forever releases them for their work and the release is binding on you, your heirs and, well, just about everyone. You can (and should) have the release reviewed by your attorney.
While the release basically obligates you to speak now or forever hold your peace, if the bank did, in fact, do something wrong and fraudulently misrepresents its actions in the release, that kind of action is not released. If there was a fraudulent act, the release is ineffective as to that kind of behavior. Bottom line: If you do not have any objections to what the bank trustee has done and you and your attorney feel the release is accurate, then sign it. If you do not, the bank will, most likely, seek court approval.
Liza Horvath has more than 30 years of experience in the estate planning and trust fields and is the president of Monterey Trust Management, a financial and trust management company. This is not intended to be legal or tax advice. Questions? Email liza@montereytrust.com or call (831)646-5262
49ers add third wide receiver with Arizona State connection; cornerback waived
SANTA CLARA — Frank Darby, an Arizona State teammate of Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall, is reuniting with them on the 49ers’ wide receiver corps.
Darby spent the past three years with the Atlanta Falcons. He was drafted out of Arizona State in the 2021 sixth round, and he served on the Falcons’ practice squad for much of the past two seasons.
Cornerback Kemon Hall was waived in a corresponding roster move. Darby’s one-year deal was first reported by ESPN.
Aiyuk has yet to practice in training camp while embroiled in a contract stalemate, though he reported Tuesday to avoid fines. Pearsall, a first-round draft pick, is expected to come off the Non-Football Injury list next week as he returns from a hamstring strain.
Aiyuk, Pearsall and Darby overlapped at Arizona State in 2019; the 49ers drafted Aiyuk in the 2020 first round, and Pearsall transferred to Florida to play the previous two years.
Darby totaled just two receptions for 29 yards with the Falcons over the past three seasons, while most of his playing time came on special teams.
Standing out among the 49ers’ receiving corps through three practices at camp have been Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings and Trent Taylor. Undrafted rookie Terique Owens, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, made his first catch in team drills Friday.
Rookie Jacob Cowing, a fourth-round pick out of Arizona, has been hindered by an injury since spring workouts. Cowing, Pearsall and Samuel trained together earlier this month in Arizona before reporting to camp.Related ArticlesSan Francisco 49ers | Burford’s broken hand could flip Dominick Puni into 49ers’ rookie starter San Francisco 49ers | Have 49ers turned the corner in terms of quality cornerbacks? San Francisco 49ers | 49ers’ training camp: Deebo Samuel spies touchdowns on kick returns San Francisco 49ers | 49ers had their priorities in order when extending Christian McCaffrey San Francisco 49ers | 49ers training camp, Day 2: Offense excels without Williams, Aiyuk
Other receivers on the roster: Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell, Danny Gray, Tay Martin and Malik Turner.
Hall joined the 49ers last November as a member of their practice squad. He previously played with the New Orleans Saints, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Atlanta Falcons.
175 fall athletes to watch over 50 days
Nathaniel Bell, Seaside: Used as a defensive end last fall, Bell gives Seaside two dynamic pass rushers on opposite sides.
The expectation is Bell will provide depth in the trenches, using his physicality and strength to keep teams from running to the outside.
Nathaniel Wade, Pacific Grove: Sharing the quarterback duties last season, Wade didn’t throw a pick in 65 attempts, finishing with 670 yards and eight touchdown passes.
A fifth of Wade’s completions last year went for touchdowns, as the 6-foot-2 senior averaged 16.2 yards a completion. Wade also rushed for a touchdown.
Izabella Storelli, Salinas: The moment was never too big for Storelli last fall, who stepped in and contributed 132 kills for the reigning three-time Gabilan Division volleyball champions.
Storelli made her presence felt at the net with her defense, finishing second on the team in blocks for the Cowboys. She was also second in service aces.
Olympic fans can eat, drink and cheer in a mini World’s Fair in Paris park
By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer
PARIS (AP) — Sip a cool caipirinha cocktail in Brazil. Sample a spicy samosa in India. Boogie down with a DJ in France ’til the early hours. Or, do all three in a day — and perhaps meet some athletes, too.
If you’re in Paris but don’t have tickets for the Olympics, organizers want you to know that you can spend your days — and boozy nights, too — at the Parc des Nations, or Nations Park, which is hosting 15 festive national team clubhouses in what amounts to a mini-World’s Fair on the edge of Paris.
The project gives a temporary new name to Parc de la Villette, a sprawling 135-acre (55-hectare) space in the northeastern corner of the capital. It opens Saturday, once Friday’s ambitious opening ceremony on the Seine River is over, along with its enormous security demands.
Imagine one huge, multicultural fan zone. The idea is for visitors to connect with each other, with Olympic athletes (who will come for medal celebrations) and with the Games themselves, organizers said.
“The slogan of these Olympics is ‘Games Wide Open,’ and we wanted to bring that to life,” said Amelie Guignabert of Paris 2024, the Olympic organizing committee. “We really believe in it.”
All they need, she noted, is the fans — and officials are advertising in the Paris Metro and elsewhere.
Certainly, there is room for them. The biggest house is not surprisingly, Club France, where there is capacity for 5,000 to 6,000 people inside and 20,000 in the outside spaces, which include two huge fields.
Other team clubhouses are Casa Brazil, Canada Team House, Casa Colombia, Czech House, India House, Casa Mexico, Team NL (Netherlands) House, Mongolia House, Serbian House, Slovak House, Slovenian House, Chinese Taipei Pavilion, Volia Space (Ukraine) and Ekhaya South Africa.
Inside Club France is a large stage, where athletes will appear after winning medals and where nightly music events will be offered, including sets from DJs like Bob Sinclar, said Arnaud Courtier, executive director of Club France.
“We like to party,” he said.
Fans can pay 5 euros ($5.42) and stay as long as they like, watching Olympic competitions on a giant screen and athlete interviews, cheering medal winners and buying food and drink. Or, they can buy a package that could run up to 385 euros ($418) for an all-night open bar and a prime spot on the stage.
Outside are some 20 makeshift pavilions designed by architecture students that house various French sports federations. Among other activities, visitors will be able to learn from coaches and try their hand at sports.
The project started with a decision to put Club France at La Villette, said Sophie-Justine Lieber, the park’s general director. Then, countries that didn’t have clubs elsewhere decided to join in.
The park, with its many structures, was able to accommodate particular needs — for example, Slovenia and the Czech Republic wanted places with kitchens to emphasize their national cuisines, and Mongolia wanted outdoor space to erect yurts, the traditional circular dwellings.
As for beach volleyball? That’s an attraction at Brazil’s house, along with music like samba and funk. And, of course, the national cocktail, caipirinha, as well as pao de queijo, the Brazilian cheese bread.
Organizers at India’s pavilion announced it was the country’s first house at an Olympics, a step toward their dream of bringing the Games one day to India.
India House spares no effort to highlight the country’s rich culture — it has brought in a huge loom, for example, where artisans are weaving traditional saris and carpets. Among many exhibits, one wall displays Gond art from the state of Madhya Pradesh, along with photos of every Indian athlete competing this year.
A key face among them: javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, a star in India who has 9 million Instagram followers.
There will be Indian food, of course — samosas, spiced chai tea, savory dhokla and more. Bollywood music will play, and fans will be able to try yoga and cricket.
Organizer B. Srinivasan, greeting the media Tuesday evening, declared these Games a perfect moment to introduce a new India and pointed to the many notables India has exported to the world – including political figures with Indian heritage like Rishi Sunak, the former British prime minister. And, in the most timely of references, Kamala Harris, the U.S. vice president who is now running for the top job after President Joe Biden ended his campaign for a second term.
Can chess games and toilet paper change prison culture? Inside San Quentin’s big experiment
Hannah Wiley | Los Angeles Times (TNS)
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. — To someone living outside these dank walls, the changes might seem small.
A sergeant greets a prisoner with “good morning” rather than barking an order. Guards start calling the prisoners “residents.” They shake hands, exchange jokes.
The toilet paper locker gets replenished when its empty. The men don’t have to ask.
At California’s oldest and most infamous state prison, a monumental shift is underway through an experiment dubbed the California Model, an effort Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in March 2023 to reimagine prison life, starting at San Quentin.
San Quentin state prison, established in 1852, is the launching site for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to revamp prison culture with a greater focus on recovery and rehabilitation. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)The changes are modeled after prison operations in Norway and other Scandinavian countries, where incarceration is considered less a tool for punishment than an opportunity for recovery and rehabilitation.
Newsom said he envisions a prison system that doesn’t just confine lawbreakers but better prepares them for reintegrating into communities after their release. That means expanding job training and substance-use treatment, but also replacing a prison culture built on hierarchy and fear with opportunities for connection and normalized social interactions.
It will take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to fully implement the California Model at San Quentin. And whether there’s support for expanding the approach across the state’s 32 prisons hinges on what plays out at this 172-year-old institution over the next few years.
In some ways, San Quentin was the easiest place to start.
Perched on some of the most expensive real estate in California, the prison’s Marin County location affords connections with a host of progressive Bay Area research and legal aid groups eager for reform work.
The prison also encompasses the extremes of corporal punishment: Until recently, it housed the state’s death row for men, a grim unit of concrete and iron, where narrow cells are stacked five stories high. There, some of the state’s most brutal sociopaths and serial killers have lived out their days in what is effectively solitary confinement.
Outside death row, most of San Quentin’s 3,400 inmates are housed in units with medium-security ratings. That means, whether because of the nature of their crimes or their behavior in prison, they’re considered at relatively low risk of violence and allowed to gather in common areas for some portion of each day. The prison has developed an abundance of rehabilitative programs, including coding classes and a media center that’s home to an acclaimed prisoner-run podcast and newspaper.
At Newsom’s direction, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has spent the past year emptying death row, systematically transferring the roughly 630 condemned men to other prisons. San Quentin is to be reenvisioned as a full-out rehabilitation center that builds on the existing programs.
“It’s not nearly finished, but some of the most significant innovations in the corrections system in California were occurring and have been occurring at San Quentin for a long time,” said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, a longtime Newsom ally and lead advisor of a 21-person council charged with bringing the California Model into focus.
The next major step is a projected $239 million construction project to bulldoze an old factory on the prison grounds and replace it with with airy classrooms, a fresh foods market and, one day, a prisoner-run coffee shop.
But transforming the culture will take more than bulldozers and lattes. The model relies on a dramatic shift in relations among officers and prisoners, two historically warring factions in a system built on clannish gamesmanship for survival.
And that’s proving more complex than building a cafe.
“We, the incarcerated person, are indoctrinated. The staff are as well,” said Steven Warren, a prisoner serving time on a domestic violence conviction and also a leader with San Quentin SkunkWorks, a nonprofit made up of prisoners and outside advocates focused on criminal justice reform.
Those interpersonal changes require a level of vulnerability in a culture that is wary of trust and unaccustomed to change, Warren said.
The condemned men on San Quentin’s death row are being transferred to other facilities as the state looks to refashion the prison as a rehabilitation center. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
San Quentin SkunkWorks hosted a guard-vs.-prisoner chess tournament at the prison, hoping to break down barriers between the historically warring factions. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
San Quentin SkunkWorks hosted a guard-vs.-prisoner chess tournament at the prison, hoping to break down barriers between the historically warring factions. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Show Caption1 of 3The condemned men on San Quentin’s death row are being transferred to other facilities as the state looks to refashion the prison as a rehabilitation center. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
ExpandTo break through some of the barriers, SkunkWorks coordinated a chess tournament in March between prison staff and prisoners, with checkered tables set up in a gym in the prison yard. Officers in green uniforms sat on one side, incarcerated men in their prison blues on the other.
Some players seemed skeptical, sitting in silence and studying their boards without making eye contact. Others seemed to enjoy the rivalry, trading biting barbs about their opponent’s skills.
At the far end of one row, Officer Richard Kruse claimed an easy victory over Jessie Milo after knocking his rook out with a bishop.
“He was so sure,” Kruse laughed, poking fun at Milo’s strategy. He offered friendly feedback for the next game.
“I’ve taken advice from a (corrections officer) before and ended up in the hole,” Milo said, only half joking. He was referencing a history in some prisons of guards egging on inmate violence only to throw people into solitary confinement afterward.
Kruse knocked his head back and gave a great bellow. “He’s not going to the hole today,” Kruse said.
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Milo wants to see the California Model succeed: “We can’t keep fighting each other expecting a different outcome,” he said. But he can’t help but have doubts.
Along with chess matches, San Quentin is hosting kickball tournaments and flag football games as a way to foster more collegial relations. But prisoners are still locked down for several hours a day in cramped cells — two men sharing dingy 5-by-11 foot quarters crammed with bunk beds, a toilet and a sink — without access to programming or family visits, Milo said.
Other than Kruse and a handful of other officers, Milo said, most prison staff are at best resistant, more often hostile, toward the changes.
“They feel the incarcerated people are being coddled,” Milo said. “The California Model is not really a grand gesture. The California Model is just kindness, courtesy and normalcy.”
Kruse, 31, with an easy manner and boyish grin, is one of the few openly enthusiastic supporters of the California Model.
His mom worked in administration at San Quentin, so Kruse has lived on the prison grounds since he was a kid. He joined the guard ranks at 21 and says he loves his job so much, it would take something “catastrophic” to leave — like “an earthquake shifting San Quentin into the sea.”
The work feels personal. In 2013, his mom had a heart attack on the job. She survived because a prisoner performed CPR long enough to stabilize her before paramedics arrived. Her survival is something he keeps in mind as he walks the yard — and before he decides to write someone up for a rules violation.
“I’ve always been a big believer that a lot of the way we go about treating at least most of these guys is kind of unnecessary,” Kruse said. “So when (the California Model) became an official policy, I was stoked.”
Kruse was placed on a “resource team” to help with the cultural shift, one of a small group of officers who help set up events such as the chess match and work with condemned men preparing to transfer out of death row.
Multiple times a week, Kruse engages death row prisoners, first conversing through the bars, then inviting someone to join him in an old prison hospital room re-purposed for social interaction. The room is decorated in a kaleidoscope of murals painted by condemned men, and stocked with board games.
An avid gamer, Kruse brought in his Nintendo Switch and spent some of his own money to fill the shelves with games like Uno, Just One and Tsuro. His hope is to use the games — and the interaction around friendly competition — to model “pro-social behavior” for men preparing to transfer to other prisons.
As part of the death row dispersal, many of the condemned men will be able to mix with the general prison population at their new facility. For most, it will mark an unsettling shift after decades of near-total isolation at San Quentin.
On a recent June day, Kruse sat in the room with Wayne Adam Ford, a convicted serial killer who in 1998 turned himself in at the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office carrying a woman’s severed breast in a plastic bag. Ford said the sessions have helped him reacclimate to other humans after years of living in the darkness of his mind.
“I wasn’t sane then. I’m not sure I’m all that sane now,” he said. “But I’m saner than I was.”
The interactions can be uncomfortable, Kruse said. But he considers the lessons in socialization worth it — both for the guys who will never get out of San Quentin and especially for the many men who eventually will.
“There’s a lot of people at San Quentin that have either already halfway turned their lives around, or are trying to get that push to turn their lives around,” Kruse said. “They’re gonna leave someday. … That’s going to be your neighbor, might be your family member’s neighbor. Those guys, if I can work with [them] to make [them] better, that, to me, is what it’s about.”
San Quentin SkunkWorks hosted a guard-vs.-prisoner chess tournament at the prison. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
“There’s a lot of people at San Quentin that have either already halfway turned their lives around, or are trying to get that push to turn their lives around,” says Officer Richard Kruse. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
San Quentin is hosting chess matches, kickball tournaments and flag football games as a way to foster relationships and more normalized social interactions in prison life. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Show Caption1 of 3San Quentin SkunkWorks hosted a guard-vs.-prisoner chess tournament at the prison. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
ExpandStill, Kruse concedes he’s an anomaly. He estimates he’s among 5% of staff who consider themselves avid supporters of Newsom’s vision. But it’s a start. “As far as it comes to getting staff on board, I think every institution has at least a few people who are willing to give this a genuine shot,” he said. “And from there … it’s like pebbles down a mountain.”
Tiffanie Thomas, legislative relations representative for the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., the union representing 27,000 corrections workers, takes a more skeptical view.
While Thomas is generally supportive of the California Model — and any reforms that would make prison work less stressful — she said many officers worry that the push for a more “Shangri-La, fa-la-la” environment poses a safety threat. Officers spend their shifts with their heads on a swivel, she said, ever on guard in case a fight breaks out or they’re attacked. After all, it’s “still prison.”
“Nobody is focusing on the fact that if something happens, we still have to be trained to do certain things,” Thomas said. “Just because we’re calling something pretty doesn’t make it actually pretty.”
Adding to the challenges: Even after a decade of legislative efforts to ease sentencing laws, California remains a state of mass incarceration.
The state’s prison population is vastly larger and more complex than the prison system in Norway that the California Model draws on for inspiration. While Norway’s longest prison term is typically two decades, more than 30,000 people are serving life sentences in California.
Steinberg, the advisory council chair, acknowledged the major differences, noting, “We’ve never said that we’re just going to take the Norway Model and put it on top of California and boom, that’s the change.”
Still, he said, the idea that California should be doing more to prepare people for life outside prison — giving them the social skills and training they need to thrive once they’re released — seems not only humane but a wise investment given the costs of incarceration.
“I really am a big believer that the way you make systemic change is to plant a big seed,” Steinberg said, adding that it also requires patience. “It’s going to take — I don’t know how long — hopefully less than a generation.”
Miguel Sifuentes is among those who want to believe the changes underway will be meaningful.
Sifuentes, 45, is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, stemming from his role in the 1998 shooting death of a sheriff’s deputy in Alameda County. During his decades behind bars, he’s tried to improve himself through classes and self-help programs.
Sifuentes took part in a basketball game between prisoners and guards in November that was covered by a local TV station. During an interview after the game, Sifuentes called out to one of the guards, who ran over and embraced him in a warm, unscripted hug. Sifuentes, overcome with emotion, sobbed on the officer’s shoulder.
Hugging the officer was a “restorative moment,” Sifuentes later told The Times, “a small amend to the law enforcement community” he harmed 26 years ago.
For Sifuentes, who has twice been denied parole, the notion of a kinder, gentler San Quentin has appeal. It is for now — and maybe forever — his home.
But the more contentious changes, he said, lie ahead. There’s such a “narrow way out of this place,” Sifuentes said. What will it take for the state to recognize his remorse and rehabilitation? And for the public — even the guard who embraced him — to welcome him home as their neighbor?
“Is California,” he asked, “willing to have the harder conversations about who we are going to let out?”
©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Horoscopes July 27, 2024: Maya Rudolph, tidy up loose ends
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Taylor Schilling, 40; Jonathan Rhys Meyers, 47; Cassandra Clare, 51; Maya Rudolph, 52.
Happy Birthday: Pace yourself this year. Pay attention to detail, plan your actions, and weigh the pros and cons before you initiate change. Tidy up loose ends instead of starting something new. The idea is to cleanse and prepare for the rest of your life. Figure out what’s essential, educate and hone the skills necessary while gaining the qualifications you require to reach your goal. Your numbers are 4, 17, 20, 26, 33, 42, 48.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Pay attention to what matters most, and redirect your energy into doing things that make you happy. Incorporate what you love and how you make extra cash into your daily routine. Promote what you can do, and you will gain interest and opportunities. Trust your instincts. 3 stars
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t pressure others to follow you. Set an example by doing for yourself, and self-advertising will prompt the following. Having a low-key attitude will leave you more time to hone and implement what you do best. Protect against illness and injury and avoid large crowds. 3 stars
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): An open mind will help fill your head with information that leads to exciting opportunities. See what works best and use the process of elimination to direct your energy strategically. Don’t trust others to make decisions for you. 4 stars
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Participate in something you enjoy, and meet people who spark your imagination. You may not agree with everyone you encounter, but if you listen carefully, you’ll spare yourself finding out the hard way who to trust and who to avoid. Physical improvements will attract positive attention. 2 stars
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Tag along to gain insight and set priorities. You’ll flourish and create opportunities and friendships when you realize where your time and effort will have the most significant effect. Make your presence felt and your vision seen and heard. A physical improvement will prompt a positive emotional influence. 5 stars
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Spread the word and see who listens. Knowing where you stand will help you conclude your next move. Don’t try to please everyone at the expense of not following your heart or chosen path. Change begins with you; make it count and play in your favor. 3 stars
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Time spent at home with those who make you smile is encouraged. Engage in pastimes that bring you joy, and share your insight into life, love and prospects with those who share your vision. Traveling, learning and exercising your rights will lead to contentment. Romance is favored. 3 stars
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Rethink your life strategy. Consider what makes you feel passionate and what your convictions are before you commit to participating in an event or taking the initiative to start a crusade. Note that your impact will have consequences and that you are better off considering the fallout before you begin. 3 stars
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t let emotions get in the way of sound judgment. Take a break; do something physical that eases stress and clears your head. Opportunities will come to you, and being ready to act will make the difference when it comes to how much success you encounter. 3 stars
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Refuse to let an emotional incident ruin your day. Choose your words wisely, and don’t bring up touchy subjects that can turn a happy event into something less enjoyable. Joint ventures and shared expenses will pose problems. Honesty is essential, but so is understanding. 5 stars
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Do your thing and avoid trouble. Conversations aren’t in your best interest; however, using your energy to create opportunities and improvements at home will ease stress and make you feel good about your life and accomplishments. Make physical improvements and love your priorities. 2 stars
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Work undercover toward your goals. You will avoid interference if you keep your plans a secret until you are ready to launch. Distance yourself from those with unrealistic ideas and poor behavior. Patience, attitude, moderation and discipline will lead to your desired success. 4 stars
Birthday Baby: You are effervescent, proactive and original. You are energetic and helpful.
1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.
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July 26, 2024
Paris Olympics: Here’s what’s on TV on Saturday
Here is the Paris Olympics TV schedule for Saturday, July 27. Highlights include the start of swimming events (men’s & women’s 400 free finals at 11:30 a.m., NBC), the U.S. men’s soccer team vs. New Zealand (10 a.m., USA), men’s rugby gold medal games (10:45 a.m., NBC), the U.S. women’s water polo team vs. Greece (6:30 a.m. USA), and the start of beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower (5 a.m. NBC).
BADMINTON1:30 a.m.
USA — Group Play: Singles, Doubles4:30 a.m.
E! — Group Play: Singles, Doubles6 a.m.
USA — Group Play: Singles, Doubles9:05 a.m.
USA — Group Play: Singles, DoublesBASKETBALL2:30 a.m.
CNBC — Men’s Group A: Australia vs. Spain8:15 a.m.
CNBC — Men’s Group B: France vs. Brazil12:15 p.m.
CNBC — Men’s Group A: Greece vs. Canada5 p.m.
USA — Men’s Group B: Germany vs. JapanBEACH VOLLEYBALL5 a.m.
NBC — Pool Play1 p.m.
NBC — Pool Play8 p.m.
USA — Pool PlayBOXING2 p.m.
CNBC — Women’s Bantam Eliminations & moreCANOEING9 a.m.
E! — Slalom: Women’s Kayak Heats6:30 p.m.
USA — Slalom: Men’s Canoe HeatsCYCLING6 a.m.
NBC — Women’s Time Trial7:45 a.m.
USA — Men’s Time Trial2 p.m.
NBC — Men’s Time TrialDIVING3 a.m.
TELEMUNDO — Diving and volleyball8 p.m.
NBC — Primetime in Paris (July 27)EQUESTRIAN12:30 a.m.
USA — Eventing: Dressage1:30 p.m.
E! — Eventing: DressageFENCING2 p.m.
USA — Women’s Epee & Men’s Sabre Bronze/Gold FinalsFIELD HOCKEY10:30 a.m.
CNBC — Women’s Group: USA vs. ArgentinaGYMNASTICS2 a.m.
E! — Men’s Qualifying Subdivision 16:30 a.m.
E! — Men’s Qualifying Subdivision 28 a.m.
NBC — Men’s Qualifying Subdivision 211 a.m.
E! — Men’s Qualifying Subdivision 38 p.m.
NBC — Primetime in Paris (July 27)HANDBALL7 a.m.
CNBC — Men’s Group PlayROWINGMidnight
USA — Heats: Double, Quadruple & more4:15 a.m.
USA — Heats: Double, Quadruple & more7:15 p.m.
USA — Heats: Double, Quadruple & moreRUGBY6:35 a.m.
CNBC — Men’s Semifinals7 a.m.
NBC — Men’s Semifinal10 a.m.
CNBC — Men’s Bronze Final10:45 a.m.
NBC — Men’s Bronze, Gold Finals4 p.m.
USA — Men’s Bronze, Gold FinalsSHOOTING2 a.m.
CNBC — Mixed Team Air Rifle Final2:30 p.m.
CNBC — Mixed Team Air Rifle FinalSKATEBOARDING3:45 a.m.
CNBC — Men’s Street: Preliminary Round8:30 a.m.
NBC — Men’s Street: FinalSOCCER6 a.m.
TELEMUNDO — Dominican Republic vs. SpainUNIVERSO — Argentina vs. Iraq8 a.m.
TELEMUNDO — Ukraine vs. MoroccoUNIVERSO — Uzbekistan vs. Egypt10 a.m.
TELEMUNDO — New Zealand vs. USAUNIVERSO — Israel vs. ParaguayUSA — Men’s Group A: New Zealand vs. USANoon
TELEMUNDO — Franci vs. GuineaUNIVERSO — Japan vs. MalíSWIMMING2 a.m.
USA — Heats: Men’s & Women’s 4x100m Free & more7:30 a.m.
NBC — Heats: Men’s & Women’s 4x100m Free & more11:30 a.m.
NBC — Finals: Men’s & Women’s 400m Free & more8 p.m.
NBC — Primetime in Paris (July 27)TABLE TENNIS10:10 a.m.
E! — M&W Singles: Prelims & moreVOLLEYBALL3 a.m.
TELEMUNDO — Diving and volleyball4:45 a.m.
USA — Men’s Pool PlayNoon
USA — Men’s Pool PlayWATER POLO5 a.m.
E! — Women’s Group: Netherlands vs. Hungary6:30 a.m.
USA — Women’s Group: USA vs. Greece9:45 a.m.
NBC — Women’s Group: Greece vs. USA3 p.m.
USA — Women’s Group: USA vs. GreeceSF Giants’ Tyler Fitzgerald continues ‘weird’ stretch with two homers in big win
SAN FRANCISCO — The English language contains dozens of adjectives that can be used to describe what Tyler Fitzgerald is doing right now. Astonishing and amazing. Astounding and confounding. Surprising and mesmerizing. But following the first multi-homer game of his career, a feat that puts his name, once again, in the same sentence as Barry Bonds, Fitzgerald repeatedly used an odd descriptor: weird.
“It’s just one of those things that’s weird,” Fitzgerald said. “Baseball’s a weird sport.”
Whatever Fitzgerald wants to call it, the Giants are happy to have it.
Fitzgerald deposited two home runs into the left-field bleachers as the Giants handily defeated the Rockies, 11-4, on Friday night at Oracle Park, giving the infielder seven homers in his last eight games — a feat that no Giant has accomplished since Bonds in April 2004. With Jorge Soler and Heliot Ramos also homering and Kyle Harrison matching his career-high of 11 strikeouts, San Francisco enjoyed a dominant win on the heels of losing three of four in Los Angeles. And as the Giants fight for the postseason, they’d love for more of Fitzgerald’s weirdness to ensue.
“It’s just one of those weird things that kind of happens,” said Fitzgerald, who also drove in a career-high 4 RBIs. “God’s got plans in store for me, I guess. I don’t know what to say about it.”
If anything, Fitzgerald is running out of things to say, of hypotheses to present. In Los Angeles, amidst the Giants dropping three of four to the Dodgers, Fitzgerald became the first rookie in franchise history to homer in five straight games, as well as the first Giant, generally, since Bonds. Now the owner of a 1.060 OPS, Fitzgerald may not have known what to say after his latest power display, but Harrison, who allowed one earned run across 6 2/3 innings, offered plenty.
“That’s the guy you need to be talking about,” Harrison said. “That second home run, I was just sitting there like I couldn’t believe it. I’m like, ‘Is this guy real?’ … Can’t say enough good things about that guy. I wish the best for him. He’s killing it.”
Added manager Bob Melvin: “He’s got a little Heliot Ramos thing going on right now. … He’s relaxed now. He’s getting consistent playing time. There’s a ton of ability there. There’s power, there’s speed, he plays multiple positions. There’s a lot to like.”
Hot streaks of this nature aren’t entirely new to Fitzgerald. This past May, Fitzgerald hit six home runs in a five-game stretch with Triple-A Sacramento. He had five homers in six games with Double-A Richmond in July 2022, as well as four home runs in five games with High-A Eugene in August 2021. This streak, though, is its own beast.
“I’m seeing the ball really well,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m seeing the spin. I’m seeing everything they throw at me. I’m just going up there and trying to do damage. Earlier in the year when I wasn’t playing much, I was just trying to get on base. Now, I’m going up there not to hit a homer, but swing a little bit harder and trying to do damage like the like the coaches are wanting me to do.”
Along with Fitzgerald, Soler and Ramos did their share of damage, too, helping give the Giants their first four-homer game since April 13 (five). Soler launched a leadoff long ball more than halfway up the left-field bleachers to give the Giants an early lead that they’d never lose, while Ramos hit a three-run dagger in the eighth.
Soler isn’t on the same plane as Fitzgerald, but he’s heating up as well. With two singles and a walk along with the homer, Soler has reached base multiple times in his last four games, as well as recorded a free pass in his last five games. The Giants need a lot to go right just to get to .500, and consistent production from Soler at the top of the order would help that cause.
“Leadoff juice, man; that’s what it’s all about right there,” Harrison said of Soler. “Once I saw that swing, it gave me that much more confidence to go ahead and attack the hitters in the second inning.”
Harrison appears to have plenty of confidence whenever he matches up against the Rockies. In five career outings against Colorado — four of which have been this season — Harrison has allowed seven earned runs over 28 innings (2.25 ERA) with 27 strikeouts.
“I think it’s just me,” Harrison said. “I think I just go out there and it’s my stuff against theirs. It doesn’t matter what team. That’s the way you have to look at it. Any given day, any team can beat you. You have to be on top of your stuff and command the zone and put guys out when you can.”
