In Wake Of Young Boy’s Death, LA Supervisors Want Answers On How Abuse Allegations Slipped Through Cracks
“You had teachers. You had family members. You had law enforcement come in contact,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “And yet Anthony is at the morgue.” The board is directing officials to work with all the agencies involved and identify any issues that impeded coordination of services.
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Supervisors Call For Review Of Child Protection System In Wake Of Anthony Avalos' Death
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ordered officials in charge of child protection to examine shortcomings in the system in the wake of a 10-year-old boy’s death last week. Anthony Avalos was found unresponsive at his family’s home in Lancaster on June 20 with severe head injuries and cigarette burns covering his body. He died Thursday. The Times reported Sunday that at least 16 calls had been made to the county’s child abuse hotline and to police before Anthony died. Callers alleged that he or his six siblings had been denied food and water, beaten, sexually abused, dangled upside-down from a staircase, forced to crouch for hours, locked in small spaces with no access to the bathroom, and forced to eat from the trash. (Agrawal, 6/26)
In other news from across the state —
East Bay Times:
Man Drives Car Into San Leandro Residential Care Facility
A man suffering from an apparent mental health crisis drove a car into a residential care facility late Tuesday night, hitting but not injuring a person inside, police said. The episode started about 9:45 p.m. when Alameda County sheriff’s deputies tried to stop a man who was allegedly driving unsafely in the area of E. 14th and Elgin streets. The man did not pull over and a slow-speed pursuit ensued, said Sgt. Ray Kelly. On the 1100 block of Elgin Street, the man steered his Dodge Magnum toward the residential care facility and drove though an exterior wall, Kelly said. Deputies arrested him in his vehicle. (Green, 6/27)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Scripps Medical Building Approved For Vista Way In Oceanside
A three-story medical office building to serve Scripps Health patients in North County has been approved for the vacant site of a former auto dealership at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Vista Way, just north of state Route 78 in Oceanside. The city’s Planning Commissioners voted unanimously for the project Monday and several Oceanside residents said it would be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. (Diehl, 6/26)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern County Supervisors Maintain Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban
The current ban on medicinal marijuana dispensaries will remain in place in Kern County for the time being after the Kern County Board of Supervisors took no action on a proposal that could have led to the establishment of seven legal medicinal dispensaries throughout the county at a meeting Tuesday. Citing the changing nature of the medicinal marijuana industry in the county, all supervisors – excluding Leticia Perez, who was absent – said they did not support the seven-dispensary plan, brought to the board by the Health and Social Services Subcommittee, which is comprised of Chairman Mike Maggard and Supervisor Mick Gleason as well as employees from the County Administrative Office. The lack of action at Tuesday’s meeting could result in the closure of 31 Kern County medicinal dispensaries that are currently grandfathered into the law. (Morgen, 6/26)
Capital Public Radio:
Yolo County Takes Steps Toward Recreational Marijuana Cultivation, Manufacturing
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors has approved several motions that allow the County to move toward legalization of recreational marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and sales. Oscar Villegas, chairman of the board, says the legalization of cannabis at the state level requires a new look at the county level. (Moffitt, 6/26)