California plans to drop warrants for some parole violators

SACRAMENTO — State corrections officials are poised to drop the arrest warrants of thousands of parole violators, releasing them from state supervision at a time when their detention would complicate efforts to ease crowding in state and county lockups.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation intends to begin a massive review next week of more than 9,200 outstanding warrants, starting with individuals who were convicted of nonviolent crimes and absconded from supervision. Over the next eight months, parole field offices across the state will be given lists of missing felons, 200 at a time, to review and determine if retaining them on parole "would not be in the interest of justice."

The mass purge is an attempt to ease the burden on counties in July, when the state hands off responsibility for parole revocations to local courts, said agency spokesman Jeffrey Callison. Weeding out cases that are years old, or of parolees nobody is looking for, will make it easier to focus on those who pose a threat, he said.

It will not, Callison said, "allow some paroles to 'get off the hook.' "

"I have been told that discharging people is not the point of the exercise," he said Friday.

Which is exactly the claim of some victims' advocates who are infuriated by the state's so-called warrant review project.

"It's mass amnesty for felons," said Assemblyman Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), a vocal opponent of Gov. Jerry Brown's plans to ease state prison crowding by shifting responsibility for low-level offenders to counties.

When inmates are released from state prison, they are required to report to a parole officer. When a felon does not appear, or disappears later, an arrest warrant is issued. With low-level offenders now serving time in county jails, the state's parole population is shrinking dramatically because those released from jail go to county probation, not state parole.

But the same law that shifted responsibility for low-level offenders also requires county courts to take over most revocation hearings for parole violators. The warrant review will remove many of those potential cases.

The plan calls for parole agents to review about 7,000 warrants against low-level offenders to determine if those parolees have violent offenses or multiple felonies, belong to gangs or committed new crimes. Agents will then decide whether to drop the warrant and release the felon from parole.

Once that review is completed, the agency may undertake a similar study of outstanding warrants against missing parolees who committed serious or violent offenses, indicating that they too might be released from state supervision.

Sexual offenders are excluded from the reviews.

Callison said the state has no idea how many parolees may be released from supervision. Nielsen, former chairman of the Board of Prison Terms, estimated it would be 70%.

"This is as close as just letting people go as we've come," said Todd Gillam, a Northern California parole agent and vice president of the Parole Agent Assn. of California.

Gillam said the mass reviews overlook the value of leaving outstanding warrants in law enforcement computer systems, especially for routine matters such as traffic stops. "The warrant is a warning, to alert the officer that this guy is a problem," he said.

Gillam and others said parole agents are under pressure to release felons from state supervision as soon as possible.

Those criticisms come as the corrections department reacted to a report in the Fresno Bee on Friday that the man who killed two people at a chicken processing plant in Fresno earlier this week, then killed himself, was released from parole over the objections of his parole agent. The gunman, Lawrence Jones, was freed from prison in June 2011 and discharged from parole in May, even though his parole agent deemed him a danger.

The state corrections department "greatly regrets the tragedy," spokesman Luis Patino said, "but it must be noted that Jones had been out in the community for almost a full year and a half when he apparently committed this heinous crime.... Neither CDCR, nor any other law enforcement agency, can guarantee that someone will not commit a crime out in the community once they have been released from prison."

The newspaper's report also came on the same day that the governor named a new state parole chief: Daniel Stone, a longtime agency employee and former parole officer. Stone's appointment over the Division of Adult Parole requires state Senate confirmation.

paige.stjohn@latimes.com

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Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez call it quits

NEW YORK (AP) — A source confirms to The Associated Press that Justin Bieber is no longer Selena Gomez's "Boyfriend."

The source is not authorized to discuss the split with the press and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The breakup apparently happened last week, and distance and their busy schedules were cited as factors.

The 18-year-old "Boyfriend" singer is touring to promote his latest album, while 20-year-old Gomez is filming a "Wizards of Waverly Place" reunion for the Disney Channel.

The pair first stepped up publicly in February 2011.

E! News was the first to report the split.

Bieber seems to be doing OK, at least publicly. On the red carpet of Wednesday's Victoria's Secret fashion show he said, "I'd rather be here than anywhere in the world."

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Online:

http://www.justinbiebermusic.com/

http://www.selenagomez.com/

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The New Old Age Blog: More Time to Enroll in Medicare If You Live in Storm Areas

Medicare beneficiaries battered by Hurricane Sandy have one fewer problem to worry about: Federal officials have extended the Dec. 7 deadline to enroll in a private medical or drug plan for next year for those still coping with storm damage.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “understands that many Medicare beneficiaries have been affected by this disaster and wants to ensure that all beneficiaries are able to compare their options and make enrollment choices for 2013,” Arrah Tabe-Bedward, acting director for the Medicare Enrollment and Appeals Group, wrote in a Nov. 7 letter to health insurance companies and state health insurance assistance programs.

Beneficiaries hit by the storm can still enroll after the Dec. 7 midnight deadline if they call Medicare’s 24-hour information line: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Representatives will be able to review available plans and complete the enrollment process over the phone.

“We are committed to giving people with Medicare the information and the time they need to make important decisions about their coverage,” a Medicare spokeswoman, Isabella Leung, said in an e-mail message. Medicare officials have not set a new deadline but have encouraged beneficiaries to make their decisions soon if possible.

People currently in a plan will be automatically re-enrolled for next year in the same plan.

The extra time also applies to any beneficiaries who normally get help from family members or others to sort through dozens of plans, but who have been unable to do so this year because they live in areas affected by the storm. Neither beneficiaries nor those who provide them assistance will be required to prove that they experienced storm damage.

“This is a really important recognition by CMS to accommodate Medicare enrollees affected by Hurricane Sandy,” said Leslie Fried, director for policy and programs at the National Council on Aging, an advocacy group in Washington.

After the hurricane, the Obama administration declared Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island “major disaster areas,” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition, FEMA issued emergency declarations for parts of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

More than four million older people in those states are enrolled in drugs-only plans, and more than 2.8 million have Medicare Advantage policies, which includes medical and drug coverage.

Susan Jaffe is a writer for Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy research and communication organization not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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Indoor trampoline parks spring up throughout Southland

Indoor trampoline parks are springing into action throughout Southern California, along with leaping games of dodge ball, highflying basketball and rigorous calisthenics.

Just ask Akory Coates, who lived out his basketball dreams for an hour recently at a Sky Zone trampoline park in Torrance. He jumped, he twirled in the air, his fingertips grazed the rim and he made four baskets. Not an easy feat for a 9-year-old, but a series of trampolines beneath his feet gave him all the lift he needed.

"Hey, Dad, look at me," Akory said as he went up for a basket and made it. His father took the fourth-grader at Major Lynn Mokler Elementary in Paramount and friends to the park for the boy's birthday. Across the warehouse a SkyRobics exercise class was underway, and a small group of parents watched their kids tumble.

The indoor trampoline business is booming, with dozens of parks open or in the works across America. "Since early to mid-2010 the whole industry has exploded," said Jeff Platt, chief executive of Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park, a Los Angeles company that opened its first location in Las Vegas in 2004. "People started feeling a little bit better about the economy and were looking for something new to do."

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At a time when the Southland economy is still struggling, experts say trampoline parks appeal to people of all ages eager for a relatively inexpensive activity and exercise. An hour at these parks typically ranges from $10 to $15. Many of them offer birthday parties, aerobics classes, corporate events and dodge ball games. There are also foam pits for people to jump into, and there are pizzas and hot dogs at the snack bar.

"We've seen them take off," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services Inc., an industry consultant. "They're not taking off like the space shuttle, but we are seeing a reemergence of them."

Speigel said trampoline parks came into existence in the late '50s and early '60s but fell out of favor because of liability. Today's trampoline parks, he said, are attractive to teens and preteens who like extreme sports such as skateboarding, BMX and snowboarding.

Sky Zone has opened 27 parks — three company owned and 24 franchises. Four are in Southern California, in Torrance, Anaheim, Corona-Riverside and Chula Vista near San Diego.

At least four other companies have opened trampoline parks across the country. Sky High Sports has 15 outlets including ones in Valencia, Woodland Hills, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Ontario and Camarillo.

Jump Street has nine locations combined in Arizona, Colorado and Texas, with plans to open two more. Xtreme Trampolines has two locations in the Chicago suburbs. Rebounderz has one outlet in Florida.

Jerry Raymond, CEO of Sky High Sports and a founding member of the International Assn. of Trampoline Parks, estimates there are just over 100 facilities in the United States and expects that number to grow. Most of the parks are franchises; none of the companies involved released profitability information.

Franchises for bigger companies such as Sky High and Sky Zone typically cost more than $1 million each to open, including insurance coverage, fees and facility costs.

Platt, Sky Zone's CEO, said the key to a successful trampoline franchise is introducing new activities.

After Sky Zone's revenue started to decline in 2009, five years after opening, it introduced dodge ball, then workout classes and basketball hoops. The moves paid off. Last year Sky Zone posted about $16 million in revenue and it's projecting $70 million for 2013.

Park operators say they make special effort to keep trampoline parks as safe as possible, but they acknowledge that injuries and liability are always a concern. "Injuries aren't something that we'll ever be able to eliminate, but we can try," Platt said.

As trampoline parks continue to multiply so will injuries, said Seattle lawyer Sim Osborn, who has represented clients who have injured themselves at trampoline parks. He said bodies can't absorb the impact of accidentally landing on the pads that border the trampolines, the facilities can get overcrowded and employees can't always supervise jumpers.

"Frankly, the way they're designed and built, you cannot make them safe," he said.

Although trampoline injury rates have decreased every year since 2004, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found there were almost 98,000 injuries in 2009, the latest year data were available.

In September, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a warning about possible safety hazards involving trampoline use. The group also recommended that operators inform participants of possible risks. Park operators said they provide instructional videos and safety brochures, and have supervisors monitoring participants.

Trampoline parks aren't monitored by any state agency, said Peter Melton, spokesman for the California Department of Industrial Relations.

At the Torrance park where young Akory was showing off his basketball potential, Shannon Brown was leading the SkyRobics class, her ponytail bopping through a series of jumping jacks. Soon she had the four participants running across 24 trampolines, then doing push-ups and a dodge ball scrimmage.

"I've had kids as young as 8 years old and older people in their 50s and 60s," Brown said, adding that she tailors the classes to participants' skill level. "It's definitely a lot harder than it looks."

Law firm intern David Moussa, 21, of Torrance was among the participants. Moussa, who tore a knee ligament during a basketball game, said he enjoys the trampoline workouts because they impact his joints less than running.

"At first it was a little weird," Moussa said, as beads of perspiration formed on his forehead. "When I first did this I thought, 'I'm this big macho guy who plays basketball,'" he said, "but after the first couple of minutes I was done."

Deon Coates, 29, of Bellflower has taken his son Akory to the Torrance Sky Zone three times.

"The place is extremely clean and never understaffed; it really gives you a sense of safety," Coates said. "Plus, it's a perfect way to get the kids to sleep versus NyQuil."

adolfo.flores@latimes.com

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L.A. councilwoman offers pension overhaul plan

Warning that Los Angeles is facing insolvency, mayoral candidate and City Councilwoman Jan Perry outlined her plan Thursday for reforming the city's employee pension and benefits system.

"The truth is that we cannot afford to continue to pay our city workforce in its current configuration," Perry said in an address billed as her first major campaign policy speech.

Perry stopped short of opposing a controversial plan by former Mayor Richard Riordan to dramatically cut retirement costs by shifting employees to 401(k)-style retirement accounts, calling it "high risk," but said she would reserve judgment until further analysis was done.

Nevertheless she said she welcomes the pressure brought on by the measure, which is aimed at the May ballot. "I think it's a good thing, because it'll change the context of the debate."

Her address came three weeks after one of her opponents, Councilman Eric Garcetti, said he opposed switching to 401(k)-style retirement accounts for city employees. Candidate Kevin James supports Riordan's measure.

Instead, Perry said she would press city employees to increase the amount they contribute to their healthcare and pension costs. About 70% of the city's workforce pays nothing toward their health insurance premiums, said City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana.

The changes would save an estimated $44 million per year, Perry said. That savings would fill only a portion of next year's budget shortfall, which is projected to reach $216 million.

Perry said the proposals were the beginning of a larger conversation she hopes to have about the city's gloomy finances, which have led to widespread service cuts since the recession began.

Speaking in her signature matter-of-fact style to a small gathering of about 50 people, Perry offered a rather bleak outlook on the city's future.

"We're on the verge of almost being nonfunctional," she said afterward. If elected, Perry said, she would focus on maintaining core services, not increasing them. "In four years, I do not foresee an enormous amount of change," she said. "I think it would be incumbent upon me as the next mayor to hold the line on expenditures."

But Controller Wendy Greuel, who is also running, said the next mayor should strive to provide better services. "I don't believe that the residents of Los Angeles want to continue to see reduced levels of service," she said. "They want government to work."

Perry also said she would not support a proposed half-cent increase to the sales tax proposed by council President Herb Wesson for the March ballot. The tax increase, which a council committee will consider Friday, would generate about $220 million. Perry called it a gimmick that would forestall tough decisions. Greuel did not give her exact position on the tax, but says she has "serious concerns" about putting an increase on the ballot without addressing current spending.

Perry also took aim at her council colleagues for renewing a tax holiday for new businesses, calling it an example of how city leaders are favoring politics at the expense of sound financial decisions.

"It was passed not because it's going to create more jobs or because it would close our long-term structural deficit," she said. "It passed because it is an election year and it's a good policy on which to campaign," she said, adding that she has seen no evidence that it has helped the local economy. Perry voted to pass the tax holiday initially.

Garcetti spokesman Yusef Robb defended his boss' handling of the issue, saying: "It's obvious to Eric Garcetti that having the highest business tax in the county — one that taxes businesses even when they lose money — stops job growth in L.A."

Though she presented a stark picture of the decisions that face the next mayor, Perry also offered her hope for the future of the city, and her daughter, who will graduate from college next year.

"I hope that she'll be able to get a job. I hope that she'll be able to move out of the house by the time she's 30," she said. Speaking from the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, part of her downtown Los Angeles district, Perry stood with her heels kicked off, behind the lectern. It was topped with a newly gifted daruma, a brightly painted wooden doll that's a good luck charm and staple of Japanese political campaigns.

Perry has lagged behind her opponents in fundraising, collecting less than half of what Greuel and Garcetti have each amassed in campaign cash.

But Perry, who is Jewish, said she is confident she'll do well with the city's black, Jewish and female voters. She pointed to the recent election of Jackie Lacey as Los Angeles County district attorney as proof that candidates can come from behind to win.

christine.maiduc@latimes.com

kate.linthicum@latimes.com

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Roger Waters plays with band of wounded veterans

NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Waters honored wounded veterans in New York by performing with them at the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit, Thursday night.

The founding member of Pink Floyd took to the stage of the Beacon Theater with 14 wounded soldiers he met recently at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He rehearsed with them at the hospital, and for the past few days in New York.

The event benefited the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which helps returning veterans and their families, and featured Waters, Bruce Springsteen, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, and others.

Before the show, Waters chatted with veterans and called the experience "fantastic." He says he's "looking forward to pulling for the rest of these guys with their comrades" during the healing process.

He says that he shares "enormous empathy with the men."

"I lost my grandfather in 1916 and my father in 1944, so I've been around the sense of loss and what loss from war can do to people," Waters said.

"I never talk about the politics because it's not relevant to me. I'm not interested in it," he said. "What I am interested in is the burdens these guys bear and would never question motive or even dream of talking about any of the politics."

He added: "If any of us have a responsibility in our lives it is to tear down the walls of indifference and miscommunication between ourselves and our fellow men."

Waters said he rehearsed with many of the soldiers at the hospital in between their medical procedures. Before the show, he walked the red carpet with Staff Sgt. Robert Henline, who was not in the band. In 2007, Henline was the sole survivor of a roadside bombing north of Baghdad. As a result, he suffered burns over 38 percent of his body and his head was burned to the skull.

Henline, who fought for his life after the attack, has endured more than 40 surgeries.

Still, he maintains a sense of humor. On the open red carpet on a chilly night, Waters pushed closer to Henline for warmth.

"Get next to the burn guy. I'm good. I'm heated up," Henline joked.

No surprise. The retired soldier says he's been doing stand-up comedy for the past year and a half.

Waters performed three songs with the veterans, including the Pink Floyd classic, "Wish You Were Here."

Waters said he didn't think there would be a reunion with his former band.

"I think David (Gilmour) is retired by and large. I shouldn't speak for him. But that's the impression I get."

Waters then added: "Hey whatever. All good things come to an end."

While his mammoth tour of "The Wall" ended this summer, Waters promised the theatrical version would hit the Broadway stage in the near future.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation has supported more than 1 million veterans, service members, and their families since it began in 2008.

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John Carucci covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at —http://www.twitter.com/jcarucci_ap

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Ask an Expert: Wondering About Alzheimer’s? Ask Here

This week’s Ask the Expert features Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, who will answer questions related to Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss. He is a professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and an author of “The Alzheimer’s Action Plan.” Dr. Doraiswamy has also served as an adviser to government agencies, advocacy groups and businesses.

About five million Americans today live with Alzheimer’s disease, and a new diagnosis is made about every 70 seconds. Cases are expected to triple over the coming decades as baby boomers age.

Misperceptions and misdiagnoses are common about Alzheimer’s, which ranks second to only cancer among diseases that adults fear the most. Many people do not understand that there are dozens of causes for memory loss besides Alzheimer’s, including many that can be fully reversed if caught early.

Among the questions Dr. Doraiswamy is prepared to answer:

What are the best tests to determine if it is or isn’t Alzheimer’s?

How do you determine your own risk?

What are the family-care options? Medications for memory? Medications for behavior problems? Preventive strategies?

What has been learned from the latest clinical trials?

How can you improve your memory?

Please leave your questions in the comments section. (We regret that not all questions can be answered here.) Dr. Doraiswamy’s responses will be posted on Wednesday.

You can follow Booming via RSS here or visit nytimes.com/booming.

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Report: Deals on foreclosed homes dwindling

The days of deals on foreclosures appear numbered, one analysis indicates.

A new look at foreclosure discounts by the website Zillow found that the price difference between a foreclosed house and one sold outside of foreclosure was just 7.7% nationally in September.

That foreclosure discount fell from 9.1% in September of last year. It's also a big difference from the days of the worst of the economic crisis, when people buying foreclosed homes could expect a discount of 23.7% from the price of non-foreclosures in August 2009.

In the Los Angeles metro area, the discount was 4.2% in September, Zillow said.

The reason is that home prices have fallen so much that buyers are now willing to pay market value or near market value in some of the most competitive regions.

"The smallest foreclosure discount is found in places where competition for homes is so high," Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries said. "People there are willing to pay the same amount for a foreclosure re-sale that they would for a non-distressed home simply to take advantage of historic affordability."

Take for instance the Inland Empire, where the discount on a foreclosed home compared with a non-foreclosed home is just 1.8%. In the Phoenix and Las Vegas metro areas, there is effectively no discount on foreclosed homes, according to the Zillow analysis. In the Sacramento area, the discount is just 0.7%.

The number of foreclosed homes on the market in some of these hard-hit areas has also dwindled considerably over the last year. In Southern California and the Bay Area, for instance, short sales make up a bigger part of the market than foreclosed properties do, according to DataQuick, a real estate research firm.

Certain Midwest and East Coast cities appeared to have the biggest foreclosure discounts. The Pittsburgh area had a discount of 27.4%, with Cleveland at 25.8%, Cincinnati 20.2% and Baltimore 20%.

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