TURN TO CHEECH & CHONG ON

FEB. 18, 2022 Bill to outlaw ghost gun kits at Fairgrounds

By Tigist Layne

DEL MAR — The state Assembly last week passed a bill by San Diego lawmaker Assembly member Chris Ward that would ban the sale of “ghost gun kits” at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Assembly Bill 311 prohibits firearm precursor parts used to manufacture untraceable ghost guns.

Ghost guns are firearms that are assembled from kits and do not carry serial numbers, making them untraceable.

Since ghost guns are manufactured in parts, they can be assembled at home and are, therefore, not registered and buying them does not require a background check.

Existing legislation prohibits the sale of firearms and ammunition at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. This bill would go one step further and prohibit the sale of weapons parts or partially assembled ghost guns.

Ward, who represents the 78th District said this legislation would close a very dangerous loophole that still exists.

“Californians should have the ability to legally own firearms,” Ward said. “However, the proliferation and use of ghost guns bypass common sense policies created to protect our communities from senseless gun violence.”

The City and County of San Diego have passed their own ghost gun laws, however, the Del Mar Fairgrounds are state lands operated by the 22nd District Agricultural Association (DAA).

“The 22nd District Agricultural Association operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and complies with all applicable local, state and federal laws, which would include this new legislation if adopted,” the DAA said in a statement via email.

Ward’s bill comes at the same time as a new proposed legislation that would prohibit the sale of firearms and ammunition on all state property, which would prohibit gun shows at state fairgrounds.

Legislation already exists that prohibits gun shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and the Orange County Fair.

This new legislation, Senate Bill 915, introduced by Senator Dave Min, would apply to all 73 California state fairgrounds.

Both bills are already drawing criticism from gun rights groups like the San Diego County Gun Owners (SDCGO) PAC, the same group that filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego for passing a similar ordinance last year that prohibits the sale of ghost gun parts.

Assembly Bill 311 will now move to the state Senate.

COMEDY DUO Cheech Marin, left, and Tommy Chong formed the comedy group, “Cheech & Chong.” Chong, 83, is lobbying to legalize cannabis nationwide. Courtesy photo

CHEECH & CHONG

CONTINUED FROM 1 a sense of humor… weed opens the mind.”

Now, Chong and partner-in-comedy Cheech Marin have launched their own cannabis delivery service that will be available throughout the State of California on Feb. 1, including right here in San Diego County. The service offers more than 300 products to choose from, including Cheech & Chong’s own line, and free delivery with no minimum purchase requirement and a 60-minute express delivery option as well.

“There are several distribution centers throughout the state with upwards of 100 drivers on the road at any given time, ensuring delivery to customers throughout California no matter where they are,” said Aaron Silverman, chief marketing officer of Cheech & Chong’s Takeout.

The delivery service pledges to bring “the absolute highest quality lab-tested, pesticide-free medicinal and recreational products that California has to offer,” with a range in vapes, edibles, concentrates, and of course, flower, according to the company’s website.

Chong said the delivery service was started partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ultimately forced more delivery services forward for other industries like food and grocery over the last two years of social distancing practices. Customers of Cheech & Chong’s Takeout will be able to schedule their delivery time range and follow their order status.

“We’re following all protocols to ensure safe and efficient delivery to customers,” Silverman said.

Besides his takeout gig, Chong has other plans to grow the future of cannabis.

“We’re looking at a cannabis-based monetary system,” Chong said. “That’s on the horizon as a new thing you can do with cannabis.”

Chong also wants to see the nation’s prisons and jails reformed too, adding he would like to team up with a cannabis company to create “rehab centers” for mental health needs.

At the top of the list for Chong is lobbying President Joe Biden to legalize cannabis nationwide. While recreational cannabis is legal in 18 states, plus Washington D.C. and Guam, and is allowed for medical use in 36 states, the federal government still considers the drug illegal.

The United State Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, classifies drugs into five different “schedules,” with the most restricted ones at the top and the least at the bottom. Cannabis, or marijuana, is currently listed as Schedule I, which means federal law deems it unacceptable for medical use and has a high potential for abuse— right alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

In response, Chong wants to see cannabis moved to Schedule II, or a lower drug scheduling class. For example, although Schedule II drugs, such as cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and oxycodone are also considered dangerous with a high potential for abuse, they can be used for medicinal purposes with DEA approval, unlike Schedule I drugs.

Chong is confident that the nation will see cannabis legalized nationwide soon.

“It’s just a matter of time,” Chong said.

According to the Pew Research Center, a 2021 survey found that an overwhelming majority (91%) of Americans believe cannabis should be legal both recreationally and medicinally.

But local groups, such as North Coastal Prevention Coalition, are still pushing back against the legalization of recreational cannabis use in the cities of Oceanside and Vista, which have already moved forward with cannabis regulations and established businesses.

Currently, the cities of Carlsbad, San Marcos and Escondido do not allow dispensaries or other cannabis-related businesses to set up shop there, but delivery services outside of those cities can still access customers there.

For North Coastal Prevention Coalition members, cannabis is still a dangerous drug that they want to keep out of the hands of the community and particularly away from children. Many cannabis legalization advocates like Chong argue that cannabis is hardly dangerous, yet is considered more dangerous than cocaine, methamphetamine or fentanyl under federal law.

“We’ve got to get away from the myth that it is somehow dangerous,” Chong said. “It’s been proven to be so harmless and so effective as a medicine, yet when you tell these things to some people it’s just so hard for them to believe.”

5

3 in race to replace Franklin on council

By Stephen Wyer

VISTA — Local businessman and longtime resident Vince Hinojosa III has announced his candidacy to replace John Franklin on the City Council.

Hinojosa, who has been endorsed by both Franklin and Mayor Judy Ritter for the District 4 seat, says that he made the decision shortly after Franklin told him about his own campaign to run for mayor.

Also running for office in District 4 are Armen Kurdian, a retired Navy captain and businessman, and Dan O’Donnell, a member of Vista’s Chamber of Commerce as well as the city’s Rotary club.

Hinojosa, who is a medically retired U.S. Marine, has lived with his family in Vista since 1999 and has worked as an independent financial planner and analyst in the city for over 20 years. He also serves on a variety of public and private financial advisory boards, including the Finance Committee for the City of Vista, Frontwave Credit Union and the city’s Chamber of Commerce.

“I got into finance because I like the service industry, I like helping people,” he said. “As I saw it, there’s a real need for financial advice because so many people do not know how to save for retirement,” Hinojosa said of his career.

His experiences in business, in financial planning, and as an avid community volunteer have all helped shape him as someone capable of leading in a role on the City Council, Hinojosa said, comparing the dynamics of running a city to those of running a business.

Like Franklin and another mayoral candidate, Vista Unified Trustee Cipriano Vargas, Hinojosa emphasized that policies surrounding homelessness and public safety will be central to his candidacy.

“The safety of Vista is extremely important to me, and in my eyes that goes hand in hand with homelessness,” Hinojosa said. “We have a huge problem with homelessness and we need to start in our own backyard. Here in Vista, homelessness is a double-edged sword, because it’s both an addiction problem and a mental health issues problem.”

Hinojosa also spoke of the need he sees for city policies to encourage an environment of growth and sustainability for small businesses. In particular, he said that he’s opposed to taxes that he said have a disproportionate impact on local businesses, such as the city’s gas tax.

“The gas tax affects a lot of small business owners, it affects places that rely on Postmates, Uber Eats, delivery,” he said. “When it comes to things that the City Council will vote on I’m going to make sure that small business owners have a voice.”

Kurdian expressed that his experience as a naval officer has uniquely prepared him for public office, as he has the experience needed in management as well as in a leadership role required for a role on the city council.

“I’m running because I love serving and working for the betterment of my community, much as I did when I was in the Navy. Public office is about the citizens you will serve, not simply a title,” he said in a statement.

Kurdian says that he’s running for office on a platform of lower taxes, less regulation for businesses and an increased focus on public safety. With crime increasing statewide, Kurdian vowed to tackle the problem head-on in Vista by bolstering local law enforcement agencies.

“My number one priority is public safety. We have an internationally accredited fire department and have world-class service from our Sheriff’s Deputies. However, as our population has grown, the level of service has not kept up, and we need to increase it,” Kurdian said. “We cannot let the epidemic of crime occurring in so many parts of California take hold in our beautiful city.”

O’Donnell said that he’s going to run a community-oriented campaign, focusing on listening to the specific needs and wants of Vista residents.

“One of my campaign goals is to meet and speak with as many constituents as humanly possible; I look forward to hearing everyone’s perspective so we can work to meet everyone's needs and achieve our goals together,” he said.

O’Donnell also emphasized his extensive background of volunteering in the community, which he said will inform his approach to city government. O’Donnell has co-founded or volunteered at a plethora of Vista nonprofits, including the James Ryan O’Donnell Memorial Fund, Make Shadowridge Sparkle, Angel’s Food Pantry, and the city’s Boys & Girls Club.

O’Donnell also expressed that as an officeholder he’d work to tackle the long-term structural problems behind issues like homelessness, which he called “a community crisis.”

“It’s important to step back and understand the root causes of addiction and mental illness — a lack of real connection with people who truly care about and love them, and a history of trauma and pain.

“We’ve been operating in a system which has valued some over others, let some fall to the wayside.”

Know something that’s going on? Send it to calendar@ coastnewsgroup.com

FEB. 18

PALOMAR ONLINE

The full-service reopening of the Palomar Community College main campus and education centers is delayed until Feb. 22, due to the regional impact of the Omicron variant.

NATURE DISCOVERY

The Torrey Pines Docent Society will host a free lecture and walk for all ages on “Animals and Habitats,” as part of the monthly Nature Discovery Series at 3 p.m. Feb. 18. Meet at the pavilion area near the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve upper parking lot. For more information, visit torreypine.org

BUSINESS CENTRAL

Want your business to be in the spotlight at the Business & Community Resource Expo 2022 March 22 at the Encinitas Community Center. For more information on our different sponsorship levels and to become a sponsor, contact Carol Knight, Membership & Community Relations, at (760) 7536041 or via e-mail at community@encinitaschamber.com.

FEB. 19

PANCAKES!

The Amigos De Vista Lions Club invites the community to its 41st annual pancake breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. Feb. 19 at Brengle Senior Center, 1400 Vale Terrace Drive to support youth basketball and other charities. Donation $5. Make check to Amigos De Vista Lions Club.

TEEN MOVIE TIME

Escondido Public Library hosts Teens Go to the Movies for ages 13 to 18, featuring “Love and Monsters,” from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at 239 S. Kalmia St., Escondido. Keep yourself awake with tasty treats, frothy beverages, and friends.

DNA RESEARCH WEBINAR

A free live webinar, “Using Ethnicity Estimates and Locality Research to Shed Light on a DNA Research Project,” will be presented at the DNA Interest Group from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 19. Registration is required at nsdcgs.org.

FEB. 20

65+ FREE AT SAFARI PARK

The San Diego Zoo Safari, 15500 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, invites guests ages 65 and older to visit for free throughout the entire month of February. During Seniors Free month, seniors may present their valid photo ID upon arrival and gain free admission to the Safari Park. For more information, visit sdzsafaripark.org. Rescued Rabbit month. Visit the Rabbitat at your Rancho Coastal Humane Society to meet rabbits who need homes, to learn how you can sponsor a rabbit, or become a volunteer to help care for the rabbits until they’re adopted. For more information visit Rancho Coastal Humane Society at 389 Requeza Street in Encinitas, log on to sdpets.org, or call (760) 753-6413. The Rabbitat, Cattery, and Kennels are open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday through Monday, and Wednesday and Thursday by appointment.

FEB. 22

CHEFS COOKING UP BITES

Oceanside native Chef William Eick, of Matsu, etched Feb. 22 on San Diego’s culinary calendar. Matsu will be hosting a Chef Collaboration Dinner, “Around the World in 10,000 Bites,” with five chefs, five dishes, and five wine pairings featuring Chefs Eick; David Duarte, Keith Lord, Jason Niederkorn and Brett Vibber. Reservations available at eatmatsu.com.

DIANA ELDER, of Family Locket, will host a DNA research webinar, “Using Ethnicity Estimates and Locality Research to Shed Light on a DNA Project,” discussing how the estimation of one’s biological, ethnic and/or geographical origins based on DNA analysis can inform locality research, providing clues for ancestor origins as well as new places to explore. The Feb. 19 program is part of a special interest group of North San Diego County Genealogical Society. Courtesy graphic

LEGACY USERS

The Legacy Users Group, sponsored by North San Diego County Genealogical Society, will meet virtually 1 to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 22. The meeting is free. E-mail legacyusersgroup@ nsdcgs.org.

CARLSBAD GOP WOMEN

Carlsbad Republican Women welcome Mark Meuser, 2022 California candidate for the U.S. Senate, at 11 a.m. Feb. 22 at the Holiday Inn, 2725 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad. Cost is $32 per person. RSVP and pay online at CarlsbadRepublicans.com by noon Feb. 17. No payment at the door. For more information, contact Kris at (760) 707-7777 or crwfevents@gmail.com.

FEB. 23

GAME ON

Join the Chess Group that meets every Wednesday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Bushfire Kitchen, 2602 Del Mar Heights Road, Del Mar. Bring a chess board if you have one. They ask for a $20 donation once a year, to help cover out meetup costs. Children 8 years old and up, plus a card table for Canasta, Spite & Malice and want to learn Euker. Please come if you can teach. Visit meetup.com/A-Great-SanDiegoChess-Meetup/.

GENEALOGY PREP

North San Diego County Genealogical Society continues its series of “Salt Lake City Prep” classes at 10 a.m. Feb. 23 in GoToMeeting format. Reservation not required. Visit www. nsdcgs. org for link. For more information e-mail slc@nsdcgs. org.

CATHOLIC FRIENDS

The Catholic Widows and Widowers of North County support group for those who desire to foster friendships through various social activities will gather for lunch at Luna Grill, The Shoppes at Carlsbad Feb. 23. Reservations are required at (760) 696-3502.

FEB. 24

COME AND BE COUNTED

If you are a youth experiencing homelessness, North County Lifeline believes you matter and deserve to be counted. Come by for free food and drinks at Lifeline’s House Drop-In Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 24, at 200 Michigan Ave., Vista. Call (760) 7264900 for more information.

FEB. 26

ROTARY FUNDRAISER

Escondido Rotary After 5 presents the Great Gatsby fundraising gala at 5 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Morgan Run Resort, Rancho Santa Fe. There will be dinner, dancing, and auctions as the club honors Al Owens with the ERA5 Spirit of the Community Award. ERA5 fundraising efforts go directly to local schools, veterans, families in need and social service organizations. For tickets or sponsorship opportunities please contact Carol (CJ) Szytel at cjszytel@gmail.com.

LEAGUE HOSTS BOOK FAIR

The Assistance League of North County will be holding a Book Fair in partnership with Barnes and Noble, from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 26 at 2615 Vista Way, Oceanside. The ALNC is dedicated to the needs, primarily of children, in Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista with the goal of providing a positive starting point for academic success. ALNC will receive a percentage of sales if you mention ALNC at checkout. All proceeds from the donations will be used to purchase books to deliver to schools during “Read Across America” during the week of March 1.

OLDER & BOLDER EXPO

The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is planning the first Older & Bolder Expo from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 26 at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 6628 Santa Isabel, Carlsbad. The free event will educate and raise awareness about the issues that can and do affect us as we age. The expo will feature health-related companies, nonprofits and senior service providers. For companies interested in becoming an exhibitor, contact Kathy Steffen at kathy@ carlsbad.org.

SURF MUSEUM ELECTION

California Surf Museum’s Annual Election Meeting will be at 5 p.m. Feb. 26 at the California Surf Museum, 312 Pier View Way, Oceanside, or possibly via Zoom. The election meeting is open to all California Surf Museum members in good standing. Call (760) 7216876 or visit surfmuseum. org or csm@surfmuseum. org.

FEB. 28

VISTA STATE OF THE CITY

The Vista State of the Community report will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Vista Civic Center, 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista. Join for a sitdown lunch and get updates from VUSD Superintendent Matt Doyle, Tri-City Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gene Ma; and Mayor Judy Ritter with her final State of the City address. Tickets at https://form.jotform.com/213465065904052 https://form.jotform. com/213465065904052.

CHESS FOR KIDS

Play chess with the Knights Realm Chess Club for ages 6 to 12 on Mondays from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Feb. Feb. 28 at the Escondido Public Library, 239 S. Kalmia St., Escondido. Learn to play or challenge your friends. All levels welcome.

MARCH 2

the first Wednesday of each month from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Mission Branch Library Community Room, 3861B Mission Ave. Oceanside. The first meeting will be March 2. The Social Justice Book Club will explore social justice issues through literature and nonfiction, discussing “All About Love: New Visions” by Bell Hooks. Visit https://bit.ly/osidesignup to register for this book club.

MARCH 4

GARDEN CLUB

A demonstration of two floral design types, angular design and featured plant material design, plus flower show competition tips will discussed at the Vista Garden Club at 1:45 p.m. March 4, at the Gloria McClellan Senior Center, 1400 Vale Terrace Drive. Fingertip lunch is at noon followed by business meeting at 12:30 p.m., horticulture report at 1:15 p.m. and program from 1:45 to 3 p.m. Visit californiagardenclubs.com/vistagardenclub or e-mail Vistagardenclub@gmail.com.

MARCH 7

‘DIAMONDS AND DIVAS’

Get tickets now for the Soroptimist International “Diamonds and Divas” fashion show and the “Live Your Dream” awards from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 12 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, 1380 Harbor Island Drive , San Diego. Individual tickets are $100 each at (619) 670-9880 or sisandiego.org/live-your-dreamawards.html.

CRITTER CAMP

Helen Woodward Animal Center will host a Critter Camp for pre-K through sixth grade. Register at animalcenter.org/programs-services/education/ february-critter-camp/. Additional Critter Camps will be held March 28 to April 1, April 4 to April 8, April 11 to April 15 and April 18 to April 22.

small talk

jean gillette

Turns out, I’m not an Olympian

Anybody over 60 can give you a dozen reasons why getting old is utterly annoying. I thought I knew them all, but I believe I have a new item to add to that list.

No matter how hard I try, I can no longer pretend I could be an Olympic athlete.

Oh come on. You can laugh, but admit it. For one or two decades, when you were a young thing, you had that thought tucked in the back of your mind. You didn’t share it with anyone, but it was there.

Those were the years when I still secretly thought, “I could do that! Well, I could if I had started when I was 5 … maybe. Shoot. That doesn’t look so hard.” It was an easy and pleasant delusion.

But this year, as I tuned in, the truth struck. Now it all looks really hard and really cold.

One of the commentators summed it up nicely. These are “not my father’s Olympics.” If I had any doubt, it vanished as I tried to watch the snowboarding competition.

I imagine snowboarding is a very, very exciting thing to do. Watching it is less so. They go up, they flip around, they come down. They go back up the other side, they flip around, they come down.

The subtleties are completely lost on anyone who has never owned or ridden a skateboard. That would be me.

I did love watching adorable Sean White gracefully give his best for the last time, But who will be the personality that makes me want to watch now? Ayumu Hirano is a phenom, but I haven’t heard anyone give him a goofy nickname yet.

This is a bitter pill to swallow. The Olympic Games — winter or summer — used to keep me glued to the screen, cheering every event. Eamonn Coghlan running the mile. Torvill and Dean steaming up the ice, Dorothy Hamill, Tiffany Chin, Tanya and her two-by-four, and those tiny Slavic gymnasts with the spotlight smiles.

And that American men’s gymnastics team in ’84 … they were so darned cute. Now it seems the intensity often kills the fun, with so much hype and drama.

Hockey might get exciting, as the US is doing great, handily beating ROC early on. But I can’t

The CoasT News - INlaNd edITIoN

7 Homeless in North County: Jake’s story

By Stephen Wyer

OCEANSIDE — Deborah said she’ll never forget how she used to drive by an intersection at Vista and Jefferson in Oceanside and see the same young man standing at the corner, dirty and disheveled, holding a cardboard sign at the stoplight.

“This was long before the homeless explosion, so it wasn’t as common a sight,” said Deborah, who requested not to use her last name citing privacy concerns.

One time, she made eye contact with the man.

“As we drove away, I said to my husband ‘How can that happen? Where’s his family?’”

‘WHO ARE YOU?’

Deborah’s oldest son Jake grew up “in paradise” along the sunny beaches of Oceanside. As a boy, he fell in love with science and excelled in his classes at Lincoln Middle School. At Oceanside High, Jake was an honors student and president of the school’s environmental club. Upon graduation, Jake went to Humboldt State, where he majored in environmental resource engineering.

Jake was just one semester away from graduating college with honors when his illness started to take hold. At that point, Jake was an idealistic, smart, funny and successful 23-year-old, passionate about the environment, starting the first animal rights club on his campus and helping organize food giveaway events for charity.

Two years later, Jake was on the streets of San Diego — homeless, hungry, cold and tormented by psychotic delusions. Jake’s drug addiction got him kicked out of his parents’ house, suspended from college and bouncing between homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation centers and psychiatric hospitals. Jake was obsessed with religious ideations, sometimes believing that friends or family members were actually spiritual figures reincarnated.

What happened? Deborah thinks Jake’s marijuana use in college may have triggered psychosis that progressed into mental illness. Whatever it was, Deborah said that Jake’s condition worsened to the point where she couldn’t recognize her own son.

“He was really, really angry and dark…we barely could recognize him…I remember asking him one day, ‘Who are you?’”

Jakes’ case is far from unique. According to Dr. Susan Partovi, who works with the homeless on Los Angeles’s Skid Row, hard drugs, such as heroin, methamphetamine and LSD, frequently trigger psychosis in adults, oftentimes resulting in permanent brain damage and mental illness.

At least half of the homeless population on California’s streets suffer from either drug addiction, mental illness, or a combination of the two, Partovis said.

“When you walk through a homeless encampment, the amount of people who are acting psychotically is astounding, it’s just unreal,” Partovi said. “What’s happening is that meth is causing schizophrenia in these people…we’re now seeing these illnesses, like bipolar, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophrenia in 30 or 40-year olds who were never psychotic before…it’s a whole new ballgame.”

And once someone ends up on the streets, Partovi said that it’s highly likely that this individual will try more drugs, furthering whatever mental illness they had and making it less likely that such a person will seek help.

“Over the past eight years, it went from people on the streets only using heroin to now everyone is doing heroin or meth, or meth with fentanyl…these users are the people that don’t trust you, that are too paranoid to accept resources, these are the people that are dying and getting incarcerated and going in and out and in and out of jail,” Partovi said.

In Jake’s case, there were multiple attempts at treatment, both voluntary and court-ordered. Most were outpatient, one was residential, and none were intensive or long enough to really make a difference. Jake’s co-occurring illnesses required a much higher level of care than what his family could find in San Diego County.

The underlying issue, Deborah said, is that Jake suffers from anosognosia — a symptom common to the mentally ill that makes the individual incapable of realizing that they’re sick. This lack of awareness is a neurological condition also exhibited by those who have suffered a stroke, those with dementia, major depressive disorder.

“With anosognosia, someone can be bleeding and say ‘Oh, I’m fine, nothing’s wrong,’ they just can’t appreciate what’s wrong, they’re missing the chemicals in your body that tell you something’s wrong and you need help,” Partovi said. “You think everything’s fine or you have delusions around it that explain your problems… your capacity for reasoning is either diminished or not there at all.”

In California, no matter how severe someone’s condition, virtually every patient at a psychiatric hospital must consent to treatment. But because of Jake’s anosognosia, this meant it was impossible to get him any real help at all, Deborah said.

“The thing is that you don’t know you’re sick if you’re paranoid or if the drugs give you false perceptions, you’re not even rational enough to know that you need help…my son doesn’t think that he’s seriously mentally ill,” Deborah said.

And so Jake has ended up back on the streets again and again.

Sometimes, Jake lived in his van, at other times he would spend weeks on end in dangerous encampments all over San Diego with the other homeless individuals. In the encampments, Jake tried even more drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin and PCP.

After one particularly bad experience with heroin, Jake sobered up for a time and consented to undergo psychiatric treatment at the Aurora Behavioral Health Care Center in Rancho Bernardo.

As the family feared, doctors at Aurora confirmed that Jake’s drug use had progressed his preexisting mood disorder to schizophrenia. Jake’s doctor at Aurora broke the bad news to the family, saying something that Deborah will never forget.

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” the doctor reportedly told Deborah.

Jake left Aurora two days later, with no medication and no long-term treatment plan. The hospital told Deborah that they simply couldn’t hold him against his will.

Inevitably, his drug use began to lead to arrests. He was sentenced to four months in jail after breaking a glass door at a local recreation center to get to the water fountain inside, while under the influence of PCP. After his release, Deborah recalled that it seemed for a short time like they had gotten “our old Jake back”—he was lucid, with the psychosis dramatically diminished, and he was even able to get a job with DoorDash.

“He was doing ok… and then he wasn’t,” Deborah said.

Just a few months later, Jake got into a fight with another homeless man at a local park and was charged with making criminal threats and brandishing a deadly weapon. Jake’s attorney was able to get a plea deal avoiding jail time under the condition that Jake had to go to rehab.

He walked out after two days.

LANTERMANPETRIS-SHORT ACT

Jake’s family meanwhile, looked into getting him conserved under state law. Under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, or LPS, individuals requiring extensive mental health care can be placed under a conservatorship through an adult guardian, meaning that they can receive involuntary treatment. But Deborah said the family’s investigations into conservatorships ultimately proved fruitless.

“It’s virtually impossible to meet the threshold for grave disability,” Deborah said. “I’ve had authority with the county tell me that in order to meet the grave disability requirement they can’t feed or clothe themselves…I asked him, ‘Do you mean to tell me that if my loved one is eating out of garbage cans and living in cardboard boxes he will not meet the requirements for a conservatorship?’ And he said, ‘You are correct.’”

According to Partovi, it’s usually impossible for even the most determined family to get a conservatorship for their loved one, as California courts require an extremely high burden of proof to demonstrate that an individual is “gravely disabled” as required under the LPS law. The results have been catastrophic for families like Deborah’s trying to keep their loved ones off the streets, she said.

“Under the laws of California, if you have a loved one with schizophrenia, for instance, he basically can’t get help until you can definitively prove that he’s a danger to himself or others, or until he won’t take food or exposes himself or something like that…you’re out of luck, your loved one will end up homeless and in and out of jail, and that cycle might continue for 20 years,” Partovi said.

Even in cases of extreme mental illness, Partovi said that a conservatorship judge will generally err on the side of declining a case if the individual does not consent to be treated.

“In the medical world, if I have to hospitalize my mother or father who has dementia, no one will listen to them and say, ‘Well we don’t have your consent so we’ll let you go wander the streets,’ it’s just common sense…but then when someone is suffering from a mental illness like schizophrenia, for some reason it’s different, we let them make decisions for themselves.”

For those eligible under the state’s strict criteria for conservatorships, LPS cases are still often denied simply because there are no residential care centers with beds available to take a new patient, which stems from an underlying lack of state and federal funding for such facilities, Partovi said.

“At the end of the day, LPS laws are not being followed in California because there is simply nowhere to put people…like if we had a funding stream for places where people could stay while they’re getting stabilized, trust me, people would be using LPS to the nth degree, but as it is, LPS is just not being used,” Partovi said.

‘FAILED HIM REPEATEDLY’

After five years of fruitlessly seeking long-term care for Jake, the family’s luck seemed to change when Jake was ordered into substance use disorder treatment after spending three months in jail for another felony vandalism charge. Here, Jake was going to finally be given access to a stable team made up of therapists, psychiatrists, and caseworkers, as part of the county’s volunteer psychiatric program known as Assertive Community Treatment.

But after several months of being on the waitlist for the program, Jake relapsed, started using again and went back to the streets. Deborah now visits his camp now and again with care packages.

“We’ll still celebrate birthdays and holidays with him if he chooses to join us. His illness is difficult, but he’s still family and we love him,” Deborah said.

Despite his painful journey, Deborah said she still considers Jake as one of the lucky ones. She often thinks of families in similar situations that lack the resources, knowledge or just sheer determination necessary to fight against a system that works against the mentally ill.

“What about a majority of people who don’t have my resources or know they exist, or maybe they don’t even speak the language? The barriers are insurmountable, they really are. The only reason my son got any [help] at all is that he’s been in jail so many times, but why did it have to come to that?”

Partovi said that the underlying culprits for cases like Jake’s are laws at the federal, state, and county levels that undermine families of the homeless by prioritizing personal liberty at the expense of human life.

“Is it really the ‘free will’ of these people to live on the streets, eat from garbage cans, to not take care of health issues like diabetes, hyperextension, and heart failure? People like me say it’s not their free will that’s at stake here — they literally lack the capacity to make these decisions…It all comes down to our laws, federal, state and local all intersecting together and worsening the problem.”

“Voluntary treatment has failed Jake repeatedly,” Deborah said. “[The problem] is laws that give the person with delusions, with hallucinations, with a severe brain impairment — the decision-making power over whether or not to get help…How does our society, our leaders, stand by and let the notion of personal rights to remain sick supersede the right to care? Or society’s right to be safe?”

Deborah said she often thinks back to the young man at the corner of Jefferson and Vista whom she used to see holding up his cardboard sign. She didn’t understand then how that could happen to someone.

“Now I think back to that young man panhandling, and I know exactly how he could end up there, and how his family probably tried to help. And I understand their heartbreak,” Deborah said.

AT LEAST HALF of the homeless population in California suffers from drug addiction, mental illness or both. Coast News graphic

NEWS?

Business news and special achievements for North San Diego County. Send information via email to community@ coastnewsgroup.com.

ECKERT REMEMBERED

There will be a ceremony to commemorate the life of longtime Vista resident and North County businessman Paul Eckert, at 4 p.m. March 3 hosted at The Vista Historical Society, 2317 Foothill Drive Vista. Bring memories and stories to share. Dinner will be served. In lieu of gifts or flowers, consider contributing to one of his favorite non-profits: New Haven Youth & Family Services, Vista Boys & Girls Club or the Vista Historical Society.

ROTARY RAFFLE

Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary is enlarging its scholarship opportunities this year to include trade or technical schools as well as colleges. To raise funds, the club organized a Scholarship Raffle that kicked off Feb. 14. First prize is $5,000. Tickets are $20 each or six for $100. Tickets may be purchased from CHNR Rotarians and by mail to the Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Foundation, PO Box 130175, Carlsbad, CA 92013. Those tickets will be mailed back to the purchaser. No online sales are possible. Further information is available at carlsbadhinoonrotary.org.

STAR STUDENTS

• Beau Bender of Carlsbad has been named to the Champlain College dean’s list for the fall 2021 semester.

• Presley Wollan of Rancho Santa Fe, a Trine University student, earned dean’s list recognition for the fall 2021 term. • Madison Scherner of Carlsbad and Ryan Ramirez of San Diego have been named to the Bryant University deans’ list for the fall 2021 semester. • Gold stars were awarded to Ryan Craig of San Marcos and Christian Gunter of San Diego at The Citadel for 3.7 grade point averages or higher in the fall 2021 semester • University of Nebraska-Lincoln students named to the deans’ list for the fall semester of the 2021-22 academic year included Jeremiah Saguin of Carlsbad, Catie Anne Pentlarge of Oceanside and Noah Martin Garcia and Lucas Rowden of Solana Beach. • Faith Fitzsimmons of San Marcos was named to the dean’s list at Millikin University for the fall 2021 semester. • The University of Utah named to the fall 2021 dean’s List: Annie Pugmire, Olivia Ford, Jake Locken, Cole Hanson, Jon Ulrich, Jenna Anderson, Colleen Haggerty, Drew Green, Charlotte Mungovan, Nina Okawa, Brooke Garvin, Jake Curran, Patricio Rojas, Harper Hughes, Kendall Mariano, Raja Caruso, Jaden Ferguson, Aaron Delgrande, Connor Brem, Cristian Haymes, Julia Durkin, Kai Stoffels and Alia Manuel of Carlsbad; Katie Prince, Ciro Valdez Garcia, Cole Dean, Billy Ohara, Trevor Hagen, Garrett Feldman and August Barnes of Encinitas; Ritu Shah, Mikayla Gagne, Kellen Bassler and Maximilian Heiskell of San Marcos; Clinton Alden and Griffin Alden of Del Mar; Sterling Snodgrass and Cameron Nelson of Solana Beach and Buffy Howe, Jon Locke and Zoey Haug of Oceanside.

KUSI PRODUCER SEARCH

Television station, known for its coverage of Oceanside, is interviewing for a new producer. Applicants must have at least 3 to 5 years of TV news producing experience. You can apply at kusi.com.

SPONSOR CRUISE NIGHT

Encinitas 101 Mainstreet is looking for Cruise Nights sponsors. The third Thursday of each summer month, from May through September, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., hot rods, foreign automobiles, classic cars and woodies line South Coast Highway 101 from D Street to K Street. There are sponsorship opportunities including stage and street sponsorship as well as booth rentals. E-mail events@encinitas101.com if interested.

A MEMORIAL for longtime Vista resident Paul Eckert is set for March 3 at the Vista Histor-

ical Society. Courtesy photo

PLAYER OF WEEK

After a weekend in which she posted backto-back double-doubles while averaging more than 20 points per game, Cal State San Marcos’ Jordan Vasquez has been selected as the D2CIDA Women's Basketball National Player of the Week for Feb. 6.

FOR CASA KIDS

The Golden Door wellness resort in San Marcos donated $50,000 Jan. 19 to Casa de Amparo to help provide shelter, residential services, trauma-informed therapy services, and transportation for youth who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect. The Country Store features a variety of seasonal fruits, vegetables grown on the Golden Door property, as well as artisanal foods. All net proceeds are donated to charity.

HELPING PETS

Helen Woodward Animal Center has partnered with Meals on Wheels for the benefit of low-income seniors. The Center’s newest program, Lewyt Mobile Pet Health + Wellness, launched Feb. 11 at Meals on Wheels San Diego County, North County Services 930 Boardwalk Street, Unit C, San Marcos.

SMUSD ENROLLMENT OPEN

The San Marcos Unified School District has opened school enrollment for all grades, including Transitional Kindergarten, or TK. The goal is to allow all 4-year-olds the opportunity to attend TK by the 2025-26 school year. This coming 2022-23 school year, TK is available to children who will have his or her fifth birthday between Sept. 2, 2022 and Feb. 2, 2023. SMUSD will offer half-day TK, with a morning option or afternoon option, at every elementary school. For more information on enrollment, visit smusd.org/enrollment.

MFCU AIDS FOOD BANK

Mission Fed Credit Union presented $20,000 to the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, earmarked for the North County Food Bank. The total includes a $10,000 end-ofyear donation in 2021 from Mission Fed, plus $10,000 in a matching grant from Federal Home Loan Bank San Francisco.

COLLEGE HELP FOR VETS

Cal State San Marcos has joined a nationwide peer support program that has helped thousands of student veterans across the country. CSUSM has become one of 49 partner campuses for Peer Advisors for Veteran Education (PAVE), which connects incoming student veterans with those already on campus to help them navigate college life and ease the transition from the military to academia.

POETRY PUBLISHED

“Poetry: Heart and Soul,” a new book by Escondido author, Efrain Padilla, has been released by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. Visit the online bookstore at https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/poetryheart-and-soul/.

PROTEST

CONTINUED FROM 3 like, ‘OK what was all that?’”

In a statement provided to The Coast News, the district defended its actions, asserting that the low salary offer was necessitated by the need to make drastic budgetary cuts as a result of declining student enrollment and a lack of state funding.

“The district is currently experiencing the need for budget reductions for the 2022-23 school year, due to several factors,” said Amy Ventetuolo, a spokesperson for SMUSD superintendent Andy Johnsen, who has been in the job since last spring.

“Like nearly every other school district in the state, SMUSD has experienced declining enrollment,” Ventetuolo said. “In our case our enrollment has dropped approximately 1,200 students over the last two years. Additionally, SMUSD is not funded the same as other neighboring districts, resulting in millions of dollars of less revenue each year.

“With this in mind, SMUSD has been working diligently to provide a salary increase while also looking at making approximately $10 million-15 million in budget reductions for the 2022-23 budget.”

Pluciennik refuted the district’s claims, arguing that funding for school districts including San Marcos actually increased during 2021 and is expected to increase again for the following school year.

“The state of California has … given billions in additional funding to our schools than ever before,” he said. “So they have the money for this, it’s in the budget, in fact they’ve gotten more money than ever before.”

The 2021-2022 state Budget Act increased state support for schools overall, with per-pupil spending going up from from $16,881 the prior year to $23,089 in the new budget, according to the California Department of Education.

For the 2022-2023 school year, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has proposed an additional influx of funding for school districts, based on a $102 billion education budget that the governor plans to send to the state Legislature this June.

Declining enrollment also isn’t a valid reason to avoid a salary increase, as such a problem isn’t unique to SMUSD or the present time frame, Pluciennik added.

“This is not unique to San Marcos, every school district has experienced student losses because of the pandemic,” he said. “And even in the years past when enrollment was growing, they still said, ‘Oh we don’t have the money’ — whether times are good or bad, they always say they don’t have the money.”

The stresses and pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two years have been felt heavily by teachers, who have had to adapt to remote and hybrid methods of learning, while having to work extra to provide the same level of quality in education that schoolchildren had enjoyed pre-pandemic, the SMEA president said.

“We consider our job noble and professional, we put in all of our efforts, and we’re always there for the kids and I think that’s a big thing for us,” Pluciennik said. “It’s like, hey we’re working our butts off, we’re working overtime and not getting paid for that obviously, we’re putting in the hours to get these kids to the best they can be and that’s something unique about this job.”

Pluciennik added that he’s still optimistic that administrators will come back to the table with a more favorable offer for educators at the next round of negotiations, which is scheduled to take place on Feb. 18.

FEB. 18, 2022 Water officials advance new labor negotiations

By Steve Puterski

REGION — The San Diego County Water Authority board of directors recently voted to lower the cost threshold for construction projects to be considered for collective bargaining agreements, significantly changing how the regional water agency awards contract bids.

In a union-friendly decision, the regional water board voted on Jan. 27 to lower the current limit for construction projects from $100 million to just $1 million, ensuring most, if not all, future construction plans will be considered for a project labor agreement, or PLA, which is essentially a pro-union construction deal.

“This is just authorizing staff and our general manager to negotiate, and it will come back to the board,” said Gary Croucher, board president of the San Diego County Water Authority.

The negotiated project labor agreement is expected to return to the board for approval later this year.

In 2010, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors banned PLAs on county construction projects, which proponents argued would “produce a fair and open competitive bidding process for all contractors and employees, regardless of their union affiliation.”

Two years later, San Diego voters overwhelmingly approved a ban on a citywide ban project labor agreements for construction projects, “except where required by state or federal law, or as a condition of the receipt of state or federal funds,” according to the ballot language.

However, the San Diego City Council’s Rules Committee recently approved a ballot measure seeking to overturn the city’s PLA ban.

But the decision sparked a contentious debate centered on union control over future projects. County water officials sparred with Supervisor Jim Desmond, who questioned the validity of PLAs, despite an attempt by Encinitas Deputy Mayor Joe Mosca, a representative of the San Dieguito Water District, to shut down the supervisor's line of questioning and comments.

Desmond said prounion deals run against the board’s calls for equitable and fair treatment of all workers.

While non-union shops are permitted to bid on projects, they are only allowed to use “core” workers, or individuals from management, architects or engineers, while the remaining employees must come from a labor union pool.

Desmond and other PLA opponents said the number of non-union core workers is low, usually around five employees. Desmond also pointed to the county’s union workforce at less than 20%, compared with non-union workers at 80% or greater.

With those numbers and the unlikely opportunities for non-union workers to secure work, Desmond said the project labor agreement will require the unions to shuttle in other union workers from out of the county.

“No one group, especially in this day and age, should be excluded from working on projects,” Desmond said. “We talk about equity all the time. It’s a travesty and I’m appalled. Eventually, on a big project, they’ll have to go outside the county to get union workers.”

Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall said PLAs lead to higher water rates, less competition driving down costs, fewer local workers and allow for wage theft, as non-union workers must pay union benefits without anything in return.

Proponents of PLAs, such as Jerry Butkiewicz, of San Diego, and Nick Serrano, chief of staff for San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, said project labor agreements lower costs, utilize a better-trained workforce, don’t exclude non-union workers, deliver a prevailing wage and hire local workers. However, a prevailing wage must be paid to all workers on a public project, according to state law.

Proponents also cited how projects come in under budget, invest in apprenticeship programs, workforce development and provide workers with stability.

Hall drew fierce blowback from Serrano after suggesting the Water Authority’s project labor agreement was already negotiated with union leadership prior to the official negotiation period, which has yet to begin.

“How long will we allow this misinformation to go on?" Serrano said. “I’m appalled. No, nothing has been negotiated. I’m taking deep offense that this PLA workgroup didn’t do our work and is shooting from the hip.”

Desmond requested the National Black Contractors Association, which has an apprenticeship program, be included in negotiations after the SANDAG board carved them from the out last year. Croucher said they would be included.

Also, the board battled over what constitutes projects coming in “under budget.” Proponents of the PLA said projects cost less than first projected, but opponents claimed otherwise, arguing unions can include an additional 10% to 30% increase, or whatever was negotiated, to the total cost, pushing the total cost over budget.