| August 26, 2016 |
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Volume 4 Issue 25 |
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| DROWNINGS IN ORANGE COUNTY |
| YEAR |
DROWNING INCIDENTS |
FATALITIES |
| 2016* |
67 |
25 |
| 2015 |
118 |
50 |
| 2014 |
86 |
43 |
| *2016 data is for January through August 26, 2016 |
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| Crime Victims Get a Life Sentence |
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Forty years ago this past July 12th, a deranged janitor at California State University at Fullerton (CSUF), used a rifle to shoot and kill seven of his co-workers and acquaintances, and wounded two others. The murderer shot 23 rounds at close range. Those murdered were Debbie Paulson, Frank Teplansky, Steven L. Becker, Seth Fessenden, Paul F. Herzberg, Bruce A. Jacobson and Donald E. Karges. Maynard Hoffman and Donald W. Keran were wounded and survived their injuries. The families of those shooting victims are still grieving without a hope of closure. Victim family members Paul Paulson and Pat Almazon have attended court proceedings and parole-type hearings for the past 40 years. They have vowed to be in the audience each time the killer’s sanity is reviewed.
Last week, we learned that the killer had been moved to what has been described as the “idyllic” Napa State Hospital. This transfer from one State Hospital to another, occurred without any notice to local law enforcement or the survivors.
When this case first went to trial, a Superior Court Judge declared the killer “Not Guilty by reason of Insanity,” (NGRI), sending him to a State Hospital instead of a life in State Prison. By law, any person committed as NGRI to a State Hospital, has the right to petition yearly for release. The prisoner-patient must prove he is no longer a danger to society. The petition is supported by reports from two mental health doctors, who opine the patient is no longer a threat to society. Since his trial and hospital commitment, the murderer has petitioned five times for release.
While in the State Assembly, I authored what was then officially Proposition 9, the Victim’s Bill of Rights, now known as Marcy’s Law. Marcy’s Law was enacted as a California Constitutional Amendment in 2008. These rights are designed to protect victims’ dignity, privacy, safety and ability to participate in every stage of criminal proceedings from the time of the commission of the crime, through the court system and sentencing, and even up to release from prison and while on parole.
The Victim’s Bill of rights was a necessary and timely Constitutional Amendment, to empower victims and survivors and give dignity and respect to their crime-torn lives. That law is now well entrenched in the practice of criminal law throughout the State. Now it is time to take the strong foundation of Marcy’s Law, and expand it to include notifications to survivors when NGRI inmate-patients are transferred within the State Hospital system. No victim or survivor should again have to learn of a transfer or disposition of a case involving the offender who harmed their family, from the radio.
Paul Paulsen was quoted earlier this year in a Register article saying, “All of the families of the victims serve life sentences.” “We’re the ones who are suffering. The killer has now lived longer than all of the victims.”
It’s time to further take away the sting of our survivors’ life sentence. |
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| Supervisor Todd Spitzer to Host Pet Adoption Event on Labor Day Weekend |
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Click on the image above to view a PDF version. |
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Supervisor Todd Spitzer is pleased to announce a free pet adoption weekend for Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4. The event will be held at the OC Animal Shelter located at 561 The City Drive South, Orange, CA 92868 during the OC Animal Shelter’s normal working business hours from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
“I am really excited and pleased to announce this free pet adoption! This is a great opportunity for the pets in the shelter to be rescued and to go to great homes. Please come out and support this event and bring home a new family member,” said Supervisor Spitzer.
The event will feature free pet adoption, a savings of $89 to $124, but adopters will still need to pay the microchip fee of $17 and the licensing fee of $27. |
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| The Board of Supervisors Recognize Eligibility Professional Month |
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Vice Chair Michelle Steel, Supervisor Todd Spitzer, and Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett with staff from SSA, Community Resources and OCHCA |
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| The Board of Supervisors recognized staff from OC Social Services Agency, OC Community Resources and OC Health Care Agency in honor of Eligibility Professionals Month. Staff was commended for their invaluable efforts delivering quality services to Orange County residents receiving CalWORKs, CalFresh, Medi-Cal, General Relief, and/or participating in other programs administered by the Social Services Agency. |
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| The Board Recognized Prostate Cancer Awareness Month |
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Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Chair Woman Lisa Bartlett, Steve Adamson and Larry Barman of the California Prostate Cancer Coalition, and Vice Chair Woman Michelle Steel |
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| The Board recognized Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and presented a resolution to the Prostate Forum OC. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men but it can be treated successfully. More than 2 million men in the United States consider themselves survivors of prostate cancer. For more information on the Prostate Forum OC, click here. |
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| Tata Pays $26 Million to Settle Lawsuit over Fraud Perpetrated Against County IT Department |
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 (Portions courtesy of County Executive Office)
Global software vendor Tata Consultancy Services and its U.S. affiliate have paid the County $26 million to settle litigation over a failed replacement to the County’s automated property tax system that initially was to have been completed in 2010 but was never delivered.
Following mediation held late last month, the Board of Supervisors approved the settlement proposal of United States Magistrate Judge Jay C. Gandhi. Tata also approved the mediator’s proposal, which resulted in a binding agreement. On Friday, August 19, 2016, the County received notification that the $26 million settlement payment from Tata had been wired to the County Treasurer-Tax Collector.
In exchange for this payment, the County will now dismiss its lawsuit against Tata, which in turn will dismiss its cross complaint.
In its legal complaint, the County alleged that Tata fraudulently induced the County into selecting Tata to develop the property tax system and then presented false claims in the form of invoices and reports, provided false and unachievable milestone completion dates, and intentionally understaffed the project to maximize profit. In the litigation, the County alleged that Tata took what was originally promised to be a two-year, $6.4 million contract and tried to stretch it into a six-year, $17 million project. The County intended to ask the jury to award punitive damages for fraud against Tata.
The amount of the settlement is more than four times the stated $6.4 million cost of the contract, and more than five times the amount the County actually paid to Tata.
“Tata substantially misrepresented the capabilities of their system and then made substantial efforts after the fact to conceal their misrepresentations,” said Supervisor Shawn Nelson, Fourth District, who attended the mediation session with Magistrate Judge Gandhi and the County’s outside counsel Todd Theodora of Theodora Oringher PC.
“We knew their system didn’t work because they lied about their capabilities,” Nelson said. “They flat-out lied to us and I caught them. Thank heavens that my colleagues agreed to fight to the last minute for justice and were willing to take this to trial.”
Had the litigation not settled, trial would have begun on August 2, 2016.
“The County takes very seriously its responsibility to hold vendors accountable and assure that they deliver what they’ve promised to deliver,” Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett, Fifth District, said.
“We were paying for something we did not receive and the taxpayers deserved to be compensated,” said Vice Chair Michelle Steel, Second District.
Supervisor Andrew Do, First District, said efforts now can shift to properly replacing the County’s aging mainframe computer system, known as ATS (for Automated Tax System), which was developed in the 1980s and uses software that can no longer be supported. “We cannot make up for lost time but the settlement will cover the costs of providing a more responsive property tax system for our residents,” he said.
“The key here was that the Board held firm and was adamant we go to trial, and Tata knew that,” said Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Third District. “The Tata settlement represents the most money recovered for the County since the 1994 bankruptcy. Brokerage giant Merrill Lynch ultimately paid $400 million in 1998 to settle claims that it had pushed the County into bankruptcy with reckless investment advice. People need to expect that quality services will be demanded when vendors enter a contract with the County,” he said.
The County sued Tata in 2013, claiming the software giant, based in Mumbai, India, violated the California False Claims Act and engaged in fraud, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent concealment, as well as breach of contract. The software program was to interface on behalf of the Assessor, Treasurer-Tax Collector and Auditor-Controller departments to generate annual tax bills for secured and unsecured property, including land, buildings, boats, aircraft and business equipment.
Tata filed a cross-complaint and also asked the court to dismiss the County’s fraud claims. In a court order filed April 1, 2016, the United States District Court denied Tata’s attempt to persuade the Court to dismiss the County’s fraud claims, noting that Tata’s internal emails, obtained during discovery, revealed Tata employees “appearing to strategize as to how to mislead the county about the status of the property tax management system.”
The initial contract with Tata America International Corporation, operating as TCS America, was approved by the County in July 2008 for $7.97 million—reduced to $6.4 million a year later—with a promised delivery date of July 2010. In June 2010, supervisors extended the delivery date for a year and approved another $1.2 million, bringing the contract total to $7.6 million.
In June 2011, after Tata officials attended a Board of Supervisors meeting and promised to fix several ongoing issues, the Board reluctantly approved another $2.7 million to bring the total cost of the contract to $10.3 million, with a new delivery date of July 2012.
In January 2013, when Tata requested a third extension, claiming that it needed an additional two years to finish the system at an additional cost of $7 million, the County terminated the contract and the Board authorized the initiation of litigation against Tata. Before terminating its contract with Tata, the County had paid a total of $4,925,541 to the software vendor. To prepare for trial, the County spent approximately $10 million on legal fees, expert fees and related court costs. |
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| Explore All OC Parks has to Offer on the New Mobile Application |
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OC Parks Mobile App |
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(Portions courtesy of OC Parks)
The County of Orange, Orange County Board of Supervisors, and OC Parks are pleased to introduce the new OC Parks mobile application, making it easy to explore all that the County regional and wilderness parks have to offer.
Using the OC Parks app for iOS or Android, you can easily get outside and find a park near you with the most detailed, accurate maps of all regional, wilderness, beach and historic parks and regional trails operated by the County of Orange. The app also offers detailed park descriptions and photos.
The mobile app lets users easily locate the closest playgrounds, parking and restrooms in each park. Search recent OC Parks news, events and alerts regarding park access, weather, trail conditions and more.
The app also links to camping and picnic shelter reservations, some program registrations and annual parking pass purchases.
The new OC Parks app is free and available for download in the Apple and Google Play stores. |
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| Local Young Artist Joins Eco Challenge Poster Contest Hall of Fame |
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Eco Challenge Poster by Ellia Chai |
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Congratulations to North Tustin resident, Ellia Chai, age 9. She is the 2016 Eco Challenge Poster Contest winner representing the Third District. The Eco Challenge contest is sponsored by OC Waste & Recycling in partnership with Discovery Cube Orange County and Angels Baseball. This year’s contest theme is to promote the eco-friendly benefits of recycling food and green waste.
Why is it important to recycle food and green waste in Orange County? Organic waste accounts for more than a third of the material in California’s waste stream. Collecting and processing organic materials to meet new mandates will change how we manage waste within our homes and contribute to bigger change. For information on playing your part, visit CalRecycle.
Ellia was chosen from more than 400 total contestants and will be recognized in a special on-field presentation prior to the Angels game on Friday, September 9th. In addition, Ellia will serve as an honorary Bat Kid at an Angels game. Come to the game on September 9th and cheer her on!
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| OC Parks Summer Concert Series 2016 |
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Click on the image above to view a PDF version. |
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| Pet of the Week |
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Click on the image above to view a PDF version. |
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| Events Around the District |
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Anaheim
Toddler Stories and Playtime
Monday, August 29, 11:00 AM
Anaheim Public Library – East Anaheim Branch, 8201 E Santa Ana Canyon Rd.
Book Discussion
Tuesday, August 30, 12:00 PM
Anaheim Public Library – Canyon Hills Branch, 400 Scout Trail
Irvine
Free Shredding Event
Saturday, August 27, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Lakeview Senior Center, 20 Lake Road
Farmers Market
Sunday, August 28, 10:00 AM
Orange County Great Park, 6950 Marine Way
Orange
Manners Matter
Friday, August 26, 3:30 PM
Orange Public Library & History Center, 407 E. Chapman Ave.
Monday Mysteries
Monday, August 29, 2:00 PM
Orange Public Library & History Center, 407 E. Chapman Ave.
Silverado
Pilates
Wednesday, August 31, 5:30 PM
Silverado Community Center, Building A, 27641 Silverado Canyon Rd.
Silverado Summer Concert Series, featuring bands Horse-Fed Buffalo, Echo Sparks and Tommy Reiser & Friends
Saturday, September 17, 6:00 PM
Silverado Fairgrounds, 27641 Silverado Canyon Rd.
Tustin
Mobile Media Lab – 3-D Printing
Saturday, August 27, 2:00 PM
OC Public Library - Tustin
Farmers Market
Wednesday, August 31, 9:00 AM
El Camino Real & 3rd St.
Villa Park
Let’s Talk about It!
Wednesday, September 21, 9:00 AM
Orange County Public Library – Villa Park Branch, 17865 Santiago Blvd.
Pet Fair 2K Dog Walk
Saturday, September 24, 9:00 AM
VP Greenbelt at Wanda/Lincoln
Yorba Linda
Nixon Library Concert, British Brass Band
Sunday, August 28, 1:30 PM
Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Toddler Story Time
Monday, August 29, 9:00 AM
Yorba Linda Library, 18181 Imperial Hwy.
For questions or comments regarding Spitzer’s E-Newsletter
please contact the Supervisor's office staff at: (714) 834-3330 or Melanie.Eustice@ocgov.com
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