USC Knew About Former Med School Dean’s Behavior For Years And Didn’t Act
Complaints of Dr. Carmen Puliafito's drinking began to reach USC administrators more than five years ago, and in 2016 the university received information about the dean being in the room of a young woman who overdosed. But he was allowed to remain at the Keck school, where the renowned eye surgeon continued to treat patients.
Los Angeles Times:
USC Had Many Warnings About Medical School Dean'S Behavior But Took Little Action
For years, the troubling reports circulated among the faculty of USC's Keck School of Medicine: Their dean had a drinking problem. ... Complaints of Puliafito's drinking began to reach USC administrators more than five years ago. Then in 2016, and again last March, the university received information that Puliafito was in a hotel room with a young woman who suffered a drug overdose. But USC allowed Puliafito to remain at the Keck school, where the renowned eye surgeon continued to treat patients. The university did not report him to the California Medical Board during that period, a USC source confirmed. (Pringle and Elmahrek, 11/14)
In other news from across the state —
KQED:
From Murders To Suicides: A Coroner Finds ‘Lessons In Investigating Death’
In his 36 years as a Marin County coroner, Ken Holmes saw everyone from murder victims to people who committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Over the years, he learned how to interview witnesses, search crime scenes for clues and how to be the first person to notify families of their loved one’s death. He also learned to identify a wide array of guns and drugs, and other lesser known ways people die. Holmes left the coroner’s office in 2010, but his story is the subject of author John Bateson’s book “The Education of a Coroner: Lessons in Investigating Death.” Both men join Forum to talk about the dead, and what can be learned from the clues they leave behind. (Krasny, 11/13)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Could Place Homeless People In 15 Rentals Rather Than Central Shelter
After months of developing plans for a San Francisco-style “full service” homeless shelter housing 75 men and women under one roof, Sacramento County staff are recommending – at least in the short-term – a plan to put those homeless people in 15 rental homes scattered across the county. (Fletcher, 11/14)
Capital Public Radio:
Parents, Neighbors Train To Stop Street Violence
Residents of Oak Park, Valley Hi and other neighborhoods where homicides among black youth are more prevalent say it's time to band with law enforcement to stop the problem. More than 30 neighborhood leaders recently finished a series of violence prevention training sessions, some with the Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. The trainings were organized by the Black Child Legacy Campaign — a county-supported project that aims to reduce deaths from violence, child abuse, unsafe sleeping and perinatal conditions by 10 to 20 percent by 2020. (Caiola, 11/13)
KQED:
Benicia Still Looking for Answers from Valero Six Months After Refinery Outage
When a massive refinery outage sent flames, black smoke and toxic gas shooting into the sky from Valero’s Benicia plant last spring, the city’s mayor said the local government had little information about what was going on. Days later Mayor Elizabeth Patterson called for the city to develop regulations that would give Benicia more oversight over the oil giant it hosts. She proposed regulations similar to those in Contra Costa County, home to several refineries, that require oil refining facilities to undergo safety audits and share their risk management plans. ... But six months after one the Bay Area’s worst refinery malfunctions in the last five years, the refinery oversight measure has not moved through the City Council. (Goldberg, 11/14)
KQED:
A Food Community Unites To Pay Local Farmers And Feed Fire Evacuees Nourishing, Home-Cooked Meals
On the first Friday after the North Bay fires swept through Sonoma County, displacing an estimated 100,000 people, Tim Page drove from San Francisco to the Salvation Army in Sonoma County with 2,000 fresh, chef-made breakfasts, courtesy of SF Fights Fire, stacked in the back of his company van. The trip was the first of many made over the next two weeks by Page and his employees at F.E.E.D. Sonoma, a micro-regional produce aggregation and distribution food hub in Sebastopol that functions as a conduit between dozens of small, organic farms and chefs and restaurants across the Bay Area. (Clark, 11/13)