Post by Admin on Dec 3, 2015 5:21:10 GMT
San Bernardino shooting: At least 14 people killed; 1 to 3 suspects on loose
By Steve Almasy and Kyung Lah, CNN
Updated 5:27 PM ET, Wed December 2, 2015 | Video Source: CNN
www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/us/san-bernardino-shooting/
San Bernardino, California (CNN)
The hunt for one to three suspects was taking place near a San Bernardino, California, center for people with developmental disabilities, where at least 14 people were killed Wednesday, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters.
Fourteen other people were wounded in the shooting, Burguan said.
SWAT teams and the bomb squad were working to clear the buildings where the shootings took place.
'Pray for us' says a text from California shooting scene
[Latest developments, posted at 5:27 p.m. ET]
• The suspects were armed with long guns, Burguan told reporters. "These were people that came prepared. ... They were armed with long guns, not hand guns," he told reporters. Most of the victims were "centrally located in one area of the facility," Burguan said. Police didn't exchange gunfire with the shooters, he added.
• "At this point, I know one of your questions is going to be 'Is this a terrorist incident?' I will tell you right now we do not know if this is a terrorist incident," David Bowdich, an assistant director for Los Angeles FBI's office told reporters.
• The shootings were in the conference center at the Inland Regional Center, the center's executive director, Lavinia Johnson, told CNN. She believes the county's Department of Public Health was having a holiday party there. Johnson said the fire alarm went off in her building, and people began to evacuate but then the order came to stay in place. Later police came and took people out of their offices.
• The three suspects are believed to be armed with AK-47-type weapons, a local law enforcement official told CNN.
• President Barack Obama restated his call for more gun control reforms in the wake of the mass shooting. Speaking to CBS News, Obama said Congress should act in a bipartisan manner to close loopholes, including one that allows people on the TSA no-fly list to legally purchase firearms
Obama calls for gun reforms in wake of San Bernardino shooting
• Four adults have been transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, and the hospital is expecting three more patients, hospital spokeswoman Briana Pastorino said. She did not describe the nature of the patients' wounds. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has received eight patients, an employee who didn't want to be named told CNN.
The shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities in San Bernardino, California.
• The bomb squad found a suspicious package on the second floor of a building and determined it is "not normal," a law enforcement source told CNN. They are going to handle it with a robot, the source added.
• A woman who works at a building where the shootings occurred texted her father: "Shooting at my work. People shot." The father told CNN affiliate KABC his daughter told him 10 to 20 people were shot.
• The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding, agency representatives said.
Coverage from CNN affiliates
KTLA
KABC
KCAL/KCBS
• Wednesday's shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities. It is unclear how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
The center's Facebook page says it employs nearly 670 people at its facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, providing service to more than 30,200 people.
It aims to "work on a personal, one-on-one basis with people with developmental disabilities to make their lives better as they define it." No information is yet available on how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
San Bernardino shooting: At least 14 people killed; 1 to 3 suspects on loose
By Steve Almasy and Kyung Lah, CNN
Updated 5:27 PM ET, Wed December 2, 2015 | Video Source: CNN
Police: San Bernardino shooters 'were on a mission'
Fourteen other people were wounded in the shooting, Burguan said.
SWAT teams and the bomb squad were working to clear the buildings where the shootings took place.
'Pray for us' says a text from California shooting scene
[Latest developments, posted at 5:27 p.m. ET]
• The suspects were armed with long guns, Burguan told reporters. "These were people that came prepared. ... They were armed with long guns, not hand guns," he told reporters. Most of the victims were "centrally located in one area of the facility," Burguan said. Police didn't exchange gunfire with the shooters, he added.
• "At this point, I know one of your questions is going to be 'Is this a terrorist incident?' I will tell you right now we do not know if this is a terrorist incident," David Bowdich, an assistant director for Los Angeles FBI's office told reporters.
• The shootings were in the conference center at the Inland Regional Center, the center's executive director, Lavinia Johnson, told CNN. She believes the county's Department of Public Health was having a holiday party there. Johnson said the fire alarm went off in her building, and people began to evacuate but then the order came to stay in place. Later police came and took people out of their offices.
• The three suspects are believed to be armed with AK-47-type weapons, a local law enforcement official told CNN.
• President Barack Obama restated his call for more gun control reforms in the wake of the mass shooting. Speaking to CBS News, Obama said Congress should act in a bipartisan manner to close loopholes, including one that allows people on the TSA no-fly list to legally purchase firearms
Obama calls for gun reforms in wake of San Bernardino shooting
• Four adults have been transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, and the hospital is expecting three more patients, hospital spokeswoman Briana Pastorino said. She did not describe the nature of the patients' wounds. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has received eight patients, an employee who didn't want to be named told CNN.
The shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities in San Bernardino, California.
• The bomb squad found a suspicious package on the second floor of a building and determined it is "not normal," a law enforcement source told CNN. They are going to handle it with a robot, the source added.
• A woman who works at a building where the shootings occurred texted her father: "Shooting at my work. People shot." The father told CNN affiliate KABC his daughter told him 10 to 20 people were shot.
• The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding, agency representatives said.
Coverage from CNN affiliates
KTLA
KABC
KCAL/KCBS
• Wednesday's shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities. It is unclear how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
The center's Facebook page says it employs nearly 670 people at its facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, providing service to more than 30,200 people.
It aims to "work on a personal, one-on-one basis with people with developmental disabilities to make their lives better as they define it." No information is yet available on how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
• San Bernardino is a city of just over 200,000 people 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
CNN's Barbara Starr, Deborah Feyerick, Ashley Fantz, Joshua Gaynor, Jason Hanna, John Newsome, Stella Chan, Nadia Kounang and Catherine Shoichet contributed to this report.
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Inland Regional Center (website)
Serving Individuals with developmental disabilities in San Bernadino and Riverside Counties
inlandrc.org
In the News
Google Pledges Funds For Special Education
DISABILITY SCOOP - Google is sharing the wealth this holiday season, with a plan to donate millions of dollars to benefit students in special education at schools across the country. Read More
For Many With Disabilities, Freedom To Be Intimate Is Rare
STAR TRIBUNE – We think we’re protecting people with disabilities by not talking to them about sex, when in fact we’re only making them easier targets for abuse. Inland Regional Center offers sex education classes for individuals with a developmental disability, but this is not commonplace. Read More
Calif. Developmental Disabilities Programs Face Financial Strains
CALIFORNIA HEALTHLINE - Many programs and services for Californians with developmental disabilities are ending because of financial challenges, KQED’s “State of Health” reports (Hellmann, “State of Health,” KQED, 11/27). Read More
IRC Office and Resource Library Closure Reminder
IRC Office and Resource Library Closure Reminder Below you will find the IRC office closure schedule as well as the Resource Library closure schedule **IRC Office and/or Resource Library closures are not associated with any vendor closures. Please consult with your consumer’s program and/or transportation provider for their schedules over the holidays. IRC
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Mass Shooting At Developmental Disabilities Center
by Richard A. Serrano, Veronica Rocha, Joseph Serna and Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times/TNS | December 2, 2015
www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/12/02/mass-shooting-disabilities/21626/
LOS ANGELES – The shooter or shooters who attacked a San Bernardino office building Wednesday morning killed at least 14 people, police said. They may have opened fire on a holiday party being held by county employees, federal law enforcement sources and a witness told the Los Angeles Times.
The shooting, which also left up to 20 people injured, happened on the grounds of the Inland Regional Center, which serves people with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
At a news conference, officials said they don’t know a motive for the attack and were not sure if it was an act of terrorism.
Keith Nelson, the vice president of the center’s board of trustees, said a group who he believed to be “county workers” unrelated to the center were hosting a holiday party when the gunfire broke out.
A person who was inside the building also told the Times that the shooting may have happened during a holiday party, but declined to be identified or comment further.
The shooting took place in a building that is open to the public, Nelson said.
Federal law enforcement sources, who requested anonymity because the investigation is active and ongoing, told the Times that the group holding the party, rather than the center, may have been targeted.
Investigators are now searching for a black sport utility vehicle that may have fled from the Waterman Avenue office building. As many as three suspected shooters fled the building after gunfire erupted, according to the sources. It is unclear whether the people inside the vehicle are witnesses or suspected assailants.
Police also used a robot to detonate a “device” found inside the building, according to the sources, who added that investigators were assembling a battering ram to gain access to the office complex.
President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shooting, and asked to be updated as the situation develops.
The San Bernardino Fire Department said the shooting took place on Waterman Avenue, near Orange Show Road. San Bernardino is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Sgt. Vicki Cervantes, a San Bernardino police spokeswoman, told reporters at the scene that up to three shooters were believed to be involved in the attack inside the Inland Regional Center.
Officers have not secured the building and are going door to door.
The suspects, she said, are heavily armed and were possibly wearing body armor.
“It’s a very active scene,” Cervantes said. “It’s very fluid.”
Television news footage showed police officers and firefighters at the scene as well as people being escorted out of the area.
Officials said they received a call about a shooting about 11 a.m. PST.
One man whose wife works in the building told KABC-TV that at least one gunman walked into the center and opened fire. She was able to lock herself in her office.
“They saw bodies on the floor,” he said.
The shooting rippled across San Bernardino.
Loma Linda University Medical Center, the closest hospital to the shooting scene, is treating seven patients who were wounded in the shooting, said Briana Pastorino, a hospital spokeswoman.
Tom Brown said he and countless other employees and customers at the nearby San Bernardino Golf Club were on lockdown Wednesday.
“We’re not allowing anyone on the golf course. We got a big helicopter sitting in the middle of the No. 1 fairway,” Brown told the Times. “We’re several hundred yards away from the area. We can see fire and SWAT from here, but we’re not allowed to go any farther.”
Brown said his co-worker said she heard gunshots nearby.
Meanwhile, the bus company that provides transportation for San Bernardino City Unified School District is offering its buses to transport victims and witnesses of the shooting, said district spokeswoman Linda Berdere.
Fred Henning was holed up inside the paralegal’s office where he works with his wife, about a block from the scene of the shooting. Henning said they were standing outside as helicopters swooped overhead, but fled back into the building as police began to flood the area.
“We just came inside because it could be stray bullets, who knows?” Henning said. “We did mill around outside for a while, but we decided the better plan was to stay in. We’re stranded in here. … We’re in an office building.”
The block where the shooting took place is home to a number of businesses, Henning said, including a three-building complex that houses his office and roughly 140 others. The street has been shut down.
“I see squad cars like you won’t believe,” Henning said.
Lynn Spicer, an employee at West Tech/Webcop Interactive Systems, which is inside a nearby office building, said police are not allowing anyone to leave the area.
“I just heard sirens all day, and I went out and I saw nothing but massive cops were out,” Spicer said. “Our boss wants us to go home, but they won’t let us leave.”
Spicer said more than 100 people were brought over from the Inland Regional building and gathered in her office complex’s parking lot.
“It’s shocking that it’s right across the way,” Spicer said. “It’s very scary.”
With nearly 670 employees, the Inland Regional Center serves those with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to the center’s Facebook page.
The center has provided services to more than 30,200 people with developmental disabilities and their families for at least 40 years.
The nonprofit organization serves children, adults and seniors.
(Times staff writers James Queally, Rong-Gong Lin II and Taylor Goldenstein contributed to this report.)
© 2015 Los Angeles Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
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NATION & WORLD Posted July 24
www.pressherald.com/2015/07/24/some-sanctuary-cities-fear-lawsuits/
Some ‘sanctuary cities’ become havens for illegal immigrants for fear of lawsuits
House Republicans have passed a bill aimed at punishing cities that refuse to share information with federal immigration authorities, which the White House threatened to veto.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.— The term ‘sanctuary city’ has become a rallying cry for conservative Republicans seeking stiffer immigration laws. They characterize such places as havens where those in the country illegally are protected from immigration authorities.
The reality behind the phrase is that while some cities actively thumb their noses at federal immigration policies, many refuse to enforce them not because of any moral obligation to immigrants; they fear lawsuits.
Since the fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle on a San Francisco pier allegedly by an immigrant who was released from jail even though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought to deport him for a sixth time, the debate over how to handle cities and counties that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities has reached a feverish pitch.
On Thursday, House Republicans passed a bill aimed at punishing cities that refuse to share information with federal immigration authorities, which the White House threatened to veto. While the bill doesn’t specifically address the release of immigrants sought by federal authorities for deportation, the Republicans are pitching other legislation to do so.
The vote came after presidential hopeful Donald Trump attacked illegal immigration on the campaign trail.
While notably liberal San Francisco has openly declared itself a haven for all immigrants regardless of their legal status, some of the cities and counties that have stopped detaining immigrants for ICE are politically conservative and are not trying to shield residents from deportation.
The city of Huntington Beach, California, which is predominantly white and Republican, stopped honoring the hold requests last summer for purely legal reasons. A federal court ruling in Oregon said so-called immigration detainers, which ask local police to hold immigrants suspected of living in the U.S. illegally for up to 48 hours, were not sufficient reason to keep someone in jail.
“We don’t have any policy or anything that prohibits our folks from interacting with ICE. We just follow the law,” said Police Chief Robert Handy, adding his officers don’t generally ask about immigration status because it doesn’t relate to their cases, not because they’re protecting anyone. “If they go get a warrant, we’ll hold them in our jail. If they ask us to go help for a search warrant on a drug house, we’re going to help them.”
San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city more than two decades ago and continues to advertise itself as a place of refuge for immigrants. In 1989, the city passed an ordinance banning officials from enforcing immigration laws or asking about immigration status, unless required by law or court order. In 2009, it began issuing municipal identification cards that can be used to obtain a public library card and sign up for parks programs.
Today, San Francisco is one of more than 200 jurisdictions that have stopped fully honoring detainers.
The localities span a broad spectrum on how far they go to welcome immigrants or whether they’re trying to assist them at all. A big distinction is the reasoning behind local detainer policies. Places like Cook County, Illinois, and Santa Clara County, California, are trying to cultivate trust of police in immigrant communities. Others, such as San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California, cite fear of getting sued.
“When you use the term sanctuary city, it implies a policy decision that’s been made about how the city should engage with the immigrant community, and most of the detainer policies were adopted to address the legal concerns,” said Jennie Pasquarella, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the anti-illegal immigration Center for Immigration Cities, acknowledged the difference but said the net effect was similar whether a city wanted to work with ICE or not.
“Some may cooperate here but not there. Some may cooperate on certain matters but not other matters. But any jurisdiction that does not cooperate fully with federal immigration authorities seems to me qualifies as a sanctuary city,” he said.
Last year, a spate of localities that had long worked closely with ICE stopped honoring detainers in response to the ruling in Oregon. In response, immigration authorities said they would start asking police to simply notify them when a suspected illegal immigrant is about to get released — not necessarily detain them. They believe the new approach, combined with a focus on more serious offenders, will lead to better collaboration from local law enforcement.
In populous Southern California, immigration agents have tended to work more closely with sheriff’s departments that run the county jails, where most serious offenders wind up. Smaller city jails like the one in Huntington Beach usually serve as short-term holding centers for misdemeanor arrests.
In the Orange County jail, deputies regularly interview immigrants about their legal status as part of a close collaboration with federal immigration agents. They tell them when someone they’ve flagged for possible deportation is due to be released. But the agency doesn’t hold people on the detainers due to legal concerns, said Steve Kea, assistant sheriff of custody operations.
“We are not a ‘sanctuary’ jurisdiction by any existing definition,” said Orange County undersheriff John Scott.
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Sign the Petition & Pledge
www.teamsters1932.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=513863
San Bernardino County promises to protect and serve its communities and to take care of its employees. But the County breaks its promises when it doesn’t provide adequate services to its residents and taxpayers, and refuses to pay its workers fairly.
Despite reporting budget surpluses each year since 2005, San Bernardino County has asked public employees to take cuts in wages, healthcare and retirement and now pays employees far less than neighboring counties. Instead of balancing the budget on the backs of public employees, we should hold billion-dollar corporations accountable for paying livable wages and their fair share in taxes, which will in turn allow us to retain the best and brightest providing invaluable services in the community.
While the state’s new system is much improved, transparency is still an issue and city and county governments have found new ways to give away tax revenue to billion-dollar corporations:
Kohl’s recently negotiated a deal with the City of San Bernardino which gives the company 80% of the local sales tax generated by the facility.
FedEx, which has received more than $500 million in disclosed subsidies nationally since 1995, was found to have obtained 1,382 tax vouchers since 2010 in Sacramento County’s former enterprise zone, making it the zone’s largest recipient. Figures are not known for San Bernardino County but FedEx operates several facilities in the area.
Amazon, which has received more than $400 million in disclosed subsidies nationally since 2000, was awarded $1,575,000 in tax credits in 2014 under the new California Competes program.
Let’s not lose any more valuable nurses or inspectors or emergency responders. They take care of San Bernardino. It’s time for the Board of Supervisors to keep your promises.
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1 Day Ago:
Who wouldn't like this newest event?
San Bernardino County Public Employees Ratify Teamster Contract
DECEMBER 1, 2015
teamster.org/news/2015/12/san-bernardino-county-public-employees-ratify-teamster-contract
County-Wide Wage Increases and Benefit Improvements Part of Victory
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – San Bernardino County employees, who are members of Teamsters Local 1932, ratified their first collective bargaining agreement yesterday. The agreement, ratified by over 80 percent of the votes cast, supported improvements in wages and benefits for the 11,000 workers who provide critical services to the residents of California’s largest county.
“This is another big win for working families in Southern California,” said Randy Cammack, President of Teamsters Joint Council 42 in Pomona, Calif. “The Teamsters are representing more public employees in the state every year due to our ability to negotiate strong contracts like the one these San Bernardino County public employees just voted in favor of.”
“I voted yes for our contract because the Teamsters are looking out for my future,” said Peter Lugo, a member of Local 1932 working at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. “I’m proud to be a Teamster.”
Local 1932 represents employees working at hospitals, in public works, health services departments, correctional facilities and in dozens of other public positions throughout the county.
The three and a half-year agreement calls for immediate increases to every members’ wages, and it includes a schedule of further increases throughout the life of the contract. Additionally, there are incentives and differential payments offered for various credentials and training that are part of employees’ jobs.
“The Teamster public sector bargaining model combines professional experience with member activism,” said Michael Filler, Director of the Teamsters Public Services Division. “Clearly, the Ontario Convention Center rally in August sent a strong message that members were ready to fight for a better future, and this agreement is an important achievement for thousands of dedicated employees.”
Teamsters Joint Council 42 is the parent body of 22 Teamster local unions in Southern California and other areas of the West, with more than 200,000 working Teamsters and retirees.
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.
By Steve Almasy and Kyung Lah, CNN
Updated 5:27 PM ET, Wed December 2, 2015 | Video Source: CNN
www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/us/san-bernardino-shooting/
San Bernardino, California (CNN)
The hunt for one to three suspects was taking place near a San Bernardino, California, center for people with developmental disabilities, where at least 14 people were killed Wednesday, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters.
Fourteen other people were wounded in the shooting, Burguan said.
SWAT teams and the bomb squad were working to clear the buildings where the shootings took place.
'Pray for us' says a text from California shooting scene
[Latest developments, posted at 5:27 p.m. ET]
• The suspects were armed with long guns, Burguan told reporters. "These were people that came prepared. ... They were armed with long guns, not hand guns," he told reporters. Most of the victims were "centrally located in one area of the facility," Burguan said. Police didn't exchange gunfire with the shooters, he added.
• "At this point, I know one of your questions is going to be 'Is this a terrorist incident?' I will tell you right now we do not know if this is a terrorist incident," David Bowdich, an assistant director for Los Angeles FBI's office told reporters.
• The shootings were in the conference center at the Inland Regional Center, the center's executive director, Lavinia Johnson, told CNN. She believes the county's Department of Public Health was having a holiday party there. Johnson said the fire alarm went off in her building, and people began to evacuate but then the order came to stay in place. Later police came and took people out of their offices.
• The three suspects are believed to be armed with AK-47-type weapons, a local law enforcement official told CNN.
• President Barack Obama restated his call for more gun control reforms in the wake of the mass shooting. Speaking to CBS News, Obama said Congress should act in a bipartisan manner to close loopholes, including one that allows people on the TSA no-fly list to legally purchase firearms
Obama calls for gun reforms in wake of San Bernardino shooting
• Four adults have been transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, and the hospital is expecting three more patients, hospital spokeswoman Briana Pastorino said. She did not describe the nature of the patients' wounds. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has received eight patients, an employee who didn't want to be named told CNN.
The shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities in San Bernardino, California.
• The bomb squad found a suspicious package on the second floor of a building and determined it is "not normal," a law enforcement source told CNN. They are going to handle it with a robot, the source added.
• A woman who works at a building where the shootings occurred texted her father: "Shooting at my work. People shot." The father told CNN affiliate KABC his daughter told him 10 to 20 people were shot.
• The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding, agency representatives said.
Coverage from CNN affiliates
KTLA
KABC
KCAL/KCBS
• Wednesday's shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities. It is unclear how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
The center's Facebook page says it employs nearly 670 people at its facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, providing service to more than 30,200 people.
It aims to "work on a personal, one-on-one basis with people with developmental disabilities to make their lives better as they define it." No information is yet available on how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
San Bernardino shooting: At least 14 people killed; 1 to 3 suspects on loose
By Steve Almasy and Kyung Lah, CNN
Updated 5:27 PM ET, Wed December 2, 2015 | Video Source: CNN
Police: San Bernardino shooters 'were on a mission'
Fourteen other people were wounded in the shooting, Burguan said.
SWAT teams and the bomb squad were working to clear the buildings where the shootings took place.
'Pray for us' says a text from California shooting scene
[Latest developments, posted at 5:27 p.m. ET]
• The suspects were armed with long guns, Burguan told reporters. "These were people that came prepared. ... They were armed with long guns, not hand guns," he told reporters. Most of the victims were "centrally located in one area of the facility," Burguan said. Police didn't exchange gunfire with the shooters, he added.
• "At this point, I know one of your questions is going to be 'Is this a terrorist incident?' I will tell you right now we do not know if this is a terrorist incident," David Bowdich, an assistant director for Los Angeles FBI's office told reporters.
• The shootings were in the conference center at the Inland Regional Center, the center's executive director, Lavinia Johnson, told CNN. She believes the county's Department of Public Health was having a holiday party there. Johnson said the fire alarm went off in her building, and people began to evacuate but then the order came to stay in place. Later police came and took people out of their offices.
• The three suspects are believed to be armed with AK-47-type weapons, a local law enforcement official told CNN.
• President Barack Obama restated his call for more gun control reforms in the wake of the mass shooting. Speaking to CBS News, Obama said Congress should act in a bipartisan manner to close loopholes, including one that allows people on the TSA no-fly list to legally purchase firearms
Obama calls for gun reforms in wake of San Bernardino shooting
• Four adults have been transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, and the hospital is expecting three more patients, hospital spokeswoman Briana Pastorino said. She did not describe the nature of the patients' wounds. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has received eight patients, an employee who didn't want to be named told CNN.
The shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities in San Bernardino, California.
• The bomb squad found a suspicious package on the second floor of a building and determined it is "not normal," a law enforcement source told CNN. They are going to handle it with a robot, the source added.
• A woman who works at a building where the shootings occurred texted her father: "Shooting at my work. People shot." The father told CNN affiliate KABC his daughter told him 10 to 20 people were shot.
• The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding, agency representatives said.
Coverage from CNN affiliates
KTLA
KABC
KCAL/KCBS
• Wednesday's shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities. It is unclear how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
The center's Facebook page says it employs nearly 670 people at its facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, providing service to more than 30,200 people.
It aims to "work on a personal, one-on-one basis with people with developmental disabilities to make their lives better as they define it." No information is yet available on how many people were at the facility at the time of the shooting.
• San Bernardino is a city of just over 200,000 people 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
CNN's Barbara Starr, Deborah Feyerick, Ashley Fantz, Joshua Gaynor, Jason Hanna, John Newsome, Stella Chan, Nadia Kounang and Catherine Shoichet contributed to this report.
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Inland Regional Center (website)
Serving Individuals with developmental disabilities in San Bernadino and Riverside Counties
inlandrc.org
In the News
Google Pledges Funds For Special Education
DISABILITY SCOOP - Google is sharing the wealth this holiday season, with a plan to donate millions of dollars to benefit students in special education at schools across the country. Read More
For Many With Disabilities, Freedom To Be Intimate Is Rare
STAR TRIBUNE – We think we’re protecting people with disabilities by not talking to them about sex, when in fact we’re only making them easier targets for abuse. Inland Regional Center offers sex education classes for individuals with a developmental disability, but this is not commonplace. Read More
Calif. Developmental Disabilities Programs Face Financial Strains
CALIFORNIA HEALTHLINE - Many programs and services for Californians with developmental disabilities are ending because of financial challenges, KQED’s “State of Health” reports (Hellmann, “State of Health,” KQED, 11/27). Read More
IRC Office and Resource Library Closure Reminder
IRC Office and Resource Library Closure Reminder Below you will find the IRC office closure schedule as well as the Resource Library closure schedule **IRC Office and/or Resource Library closures are not associated with any vendor closures. Please consult with your consumer’s program and/or transportation provider for their schedules over the holidays. IRC
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Mass Shooting At Developmental Disabilities Center
by Richard A. Serrano, Veronica Rocha, Joseph Serna and Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times/TNS | December 2, 2015
www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/12/02/mass-shooting-disabilities/21626/
LOS ANGELES – The shooter or shooters who attacked a San Bernardino office building Wednesday morning killed at least 14 people, police said. They may have opened fire on a holiday party being held by county employees, federal law enforcement sources and a witness told the Los Angeles Times.
The shooting, which also left up to 20 people injured, happened on the grounds of the Inland Regional Center, which serves people with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
At a news conference, officials said they don’t know a motive for the attack and were not sure if it was an act of terrorism.
Keith Nelson, the vice president of the center’s board of trustees, said a group who he believed to be “county workers” unrelated to the center were hosting a holiday party when the gunfire broke out.
A person who was inside the building also told the Times that the shooting may have happened during a holiday party, but declined to be identified or comment further.
The shooting took place in a building that is open to the public, Nelson said.
Federal law enforcement sources, who requested anonymity because the investigation is active and ongoing, told the Times that the group holding the party, rather than the center, may have been targeted.
Investigators are now searching for a black sport utility vehicle that may have fled from the Waterman Avenue office building. As many as three suspected shooters fled the building after gunfire erupted, according to the sources. It is unclear whether the people inside the vehicle are witnesses or suspected assailants.
Police also used a robot to detonate a “device” found inside the building, according to the sources, who added that investigators were assembling a battering ram to gain access to the office complex.
President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shooting, and asked to be updated as the situation develops.
The San Bernardino Fire Department said the shooting took place on Waterman Avenue, near Orange Show Road. San Bernardino is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Sgt. Vicki Cervantes, a San Bernardino police spokeswoman, told reporters at the scene that up to three shooters were believed to be involved in the attack inside the Inland Regional Center.
Officers have not secured the building and are going door to door.
The suspects, she said, are heavily armed and were possibly wearing body armor.
“It’s a very active scene,” Cervantes said. “It’s very fluid.”
Television news footage showed police officers and firefighters at the scene as well as people being escorted out of the area.
Officials said they received a call about a shooting about 11 a.m. PST.
One man whose wife works in the building told KABC-TV that at least one gunman walked into the center and opened fire. She was able to lock herself in her office.
“They saw bodies on the floor,” he said.
The shooting rippled across San Bernardino.
Loma Linda University Medical Center, the closest hospital to the shooting scene, is treating seven patients who were wounded in the shooting, said Briana Pastorino, a hospital spokeswoman.
Tom Brown said he and countless other employees and customers at the nearby San Bernardino Golf Club were on lockdown Wednesday.
“We’re not allowing anyone on the golf course. We got a big helicopter sitting in the middle of the No. 1 fairway,” Brown told the Times. “We’re several hundred yards away from the area. We can see fire and SWAT from here, but we’re not allowed to go any farther.”
Brown said his co-worker said she heard gunshots nearby.
Meanwhile, the bus company that provides transportation for San Bernardino City Unified School District is offering its buses to transport victims and witnesses of the shooting, said district spokeswoman Linda Berdere.
Fred Henning was holed up inside the paralegal’s office where he works with his wife, about a block from the scene of the shooting. Henning said they were standing outside as helicopters swooped overhead, but fled back into the building as police began to flood the area.
“We just came inside because it could be stray bullets, who knows?” Henning said. “We did mill around outside for a while, but we decided the better plan was to stay in. We’re stranded in here. … We’re in an office building.”
The block where the shooting took place is home to a number of businesses, Henning said, including a three-building complex that houses his office and roughly 140 others. The street has been shut down.
“I see squad cars like you won’t believe,” Henning said.
Lynn Spicer, an employee at West Tech/Webcop Interactive Systems, which is inside a nearby office building, said police are not allowing anyone to leave the area.
“I just heard sirens all day, and I went out and I saw nothing but massive cops were out,” Spicer said. “Our boss wants us to go home, but they won’t let us leave.”
Spicer said more than 100 people were brought over from the Inland Regional building and gathered in her office complex’s parking lot.
“It’s shocking that it’s right across the way,” Spicer said. “It’s very scary.”
With nearly 670 employees, the Inland Regional Center serves those with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to the center’s Facebook page.
The center has provided services to more than 30,200 people with developmental disabilities and their families for at least 40 years.
The nonprofit organization serves children, adults and seniors.
(Times staff writers James Queally, Rong-Gong Lin II and Taylor Goldenstein contributed to this report.)
© 2015 Los Angeles Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
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NATION & WORLD Posted July 24
www.pressherald.com/2015/07/24/some-sanctuary-cities-fear-lawsuits/
Some ‘sanctuary cities’ become havens for illegal immigrants for fear of lawsuits
House Republicans have passed a bill aimed at punishing cities that refuse to share information with federal immigration authorities, which the White House threatened to veto.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.— The term ‘sanctuary city’ has become a rallying cry for conservative Republicans seeking stiffer immigration laws. They characterize such places as havens where those in the country illegally are protected from immigration authorities.
The reality behind the phrase is that while some cities actively thumb their noses at federal immigration policies, many refuse to enforce them not because of any moral obligation to immigrants; they fear lawsuits.
Since the fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle on a San Francisco pier allegedly by an immigrant who was released from jail even though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought to deport him for a sixth time, the debate over how to handle cities and counties that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities has reached a feverish pitch.
On Thursday, House Republicans passed a bill aimed at punishing cities that refuse to share information with federal immigration authorities, which the White House threatened to veto. While the bill doesn’t specifically address the release of immigrants sought by federal authorities for deportation, the Republicans are pitching other legislation to do so.
The vote came after presidential hopeful Donald Trump attacked illegal immigration on the campaign trail.
While notably liberal San Francisco has openly declared itself a haven for all immigrants regardless of their legal status, some of the cities and counties that have stopped detaining immigrants for ICE are politically conservative and are not trying to shield residents from deportation.
The city of Huntington Beach, California, which is predominantly white and Republican, stopped honoring the hold requests last summer for purely legal reasons. A federal court ruling in Oregon said so-called immigration detainers, which ask local police to hold immigrants suspected of living in the U.S. illegally for up to 48 hours, were not sufficient reason to keep someone in jail.
“We don’t have any policy or anything that prohibits our folks from interacting with ICE. We just follow the law,” said Police Chief Robert Handy, adding his officers don’t generally ask about immigration status because it doesn’t relate to their cases, not because they’re protecting anyone. “If they go get a warrant, we’ll hold them in our jail. If they ask us to go help for a search warrant on a drug house, we’re going to help them.”
San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city more than two decades ago and continues to advertise itself as a place of refuge for immigrants. In 1989, the city passed an ordinance banning officials from enforcing immigration laws or asking about immigration status, unless required by law or court order. In 2009, it began issuing municipal identification cards that can be used to obtain a public library card and sign up for parks programs.
Today, San Francisco is one of more than 200 jurisdictions that have stopped fully honoring detainers.
The localities span a broad spectrum on how far they go to welcome immigrants or whether they’re trying to assist them at all. A big distinction is the reasoning behind local detainer policies. Places like Cook County, Illinois, and Santa Clara County, California, are trying to cultivate trust of police in immigrant communities. Others, such as San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California, cite fear of getting sued.
“When you use the term sanctuary city, it implies a policy decision that’s been made about how the city should engage with the immigrant community, and most of the detainer policies were adopted to address the legal concerns,” said Jennie Pasquarella, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the anti-illegal immigration Center for Immigration Cities, acknowledged the difference but said the net effect was similar whether a city wanted to work with ICE or not.
“Some may cooperate here but not there. Some may cooperate on certain matters but not other matters. But any jurisdiction that does not cooperate fully with federal immigration authorities seems to me qualifies as a sanctuary city,” he said.
Last year, a spate of localities that had long worked closely with ICE stopped honoring detainers in response to the ruling in Oregon. In response, immigration authorities said they would start asking police to simply notify them when a suspected illegal immigrant is about to get released — not necessarily detain them. They believe the new approach, combined with a focus on more serious offenders, will lead to better collaboration from local law enforcement.
In populous Southern California, immigration agents have tended to work more closely with sheriff’s departments that run the county jails, where most serious offenders wind up. Smaller city jails like the one in Huntington Beach usually serve as short-term holding centers for misdemeanor arrests.
In the Orange County jail, deputies regularly interview immigrants about their legal status as part of a close collaboration with federal immigration agents. They tell them when someone they’ve flagged for possible deportation is due to be released. But the agency doesn’t hold people on the detainers due to legal concerns, said Steve Kea, assistant sheriff of custody operations.
“We are not a ‘sanctuary’ jurisdiction by any existing definition,” said Orange County undersheriff John Scott.
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Sign the Petition & Pledge
www.teamsters1932.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=513863
San Bernardino County promises to protect and serve its communities and to take care of its employees. But the County breaks its promises when it doesn’t provide adequate services to its residents and taxpayers, and refuses to pay its workers fairly.
Despite reporting budget surpluses each year since 2005, San Bernardino County has asked public employees to take cuts in wages, healthcare and retirement and now pays employees far less than neighboring counties. Instead of balancing the budget on the backs of public employees, we should hold billion-dollar corporations accountable for paying livable wages and their fair share in taxes, which will in turn allow us to retain the best and brightest providing invaluable services in the community.
While the state’s new system is much improved, transparency is still an issue and city and county governments have found new ways to give away tax revenue to billion-dollar corporations:
Kohl’s recently negotiated a deal with the City of San Bernardino which gives the company 80% of the local sales tax generated by the facility.
FedEx, which has received more than $500 million in disclosed subsidies nationally since 1995, was found to have obtained 1,382 tax vouchers since 2010 in Sacramento County’s former enterprise zone, making it the zone’s largest recipient. Figures are not known for San Bernardino County but FedEx operates several facilities in the area.
Amazon, which has received more than $400 million in disclosed subsidies nationally since 2000, was awarded $1,575,000 in tax credits in 2014 under the new California Competes program.
Let’s not lose any more valuable nurses or inspectors or emergency responders. They take care of San Bernardino. It’s time for the Board of Supervisors to keep your promises.
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San Bernardino County Public Employees Ratify Teamster Contract
DECEMBER 1, 2015
teamster.org/news/2015/12/san-bernardino-county-public-employees-ratify-teamster-contract
County-Wide Wage Increases and Benefit Improvements Part of Victory
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – San Bernardino County employees, who are members of Teamsters Local 1932, ratified their first collective bargaining agreement yesterday. The agreement, ratified by over 80 percent of the votes cast, supported improvements in wages and benefits for the 11,000 workers who provide critical services to the residents of California’s largest county.
“This is another big win for working families in Southern California,” said Randy Cammack, President of Teamsters Joint Council 42 in Pomona, Calif. “The Teamsters are representing more public employees in the state every year due to our ability to negotiate strong contracts like the one these San Bernardino County public employees just voted in favor of.”
“I voted yes for our contract because the Teamsters are looking out for my future,” said Peter Lugo, a member of Local 1932 working at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. “I’m proud to be a Teamster.”
Local 1932 represents employees working at hospitals, in public works, health services departments, correctional facilities and in dozens of other public positions throughout the county.
The three and a half-year agreement calls for immediate increases to every members’ wages, and it includes a schedule of further increases throughout the life of the contract. Additionally, there are incentives and differential payments offered for various credentials and training that are part of employees’ jobs.
“The Teamster public sector bargaining model combines professional experience with member activism,” said Michael Filler, Director of the Teamsters Public Services Division. “Clearly, the Ontario Convention Center rally in August sent a strong message that members were ready to fight for a better future, and this agreement is an important achievement for thousands of dedicated employees.”
Teamsters Joint Council 42 is the parent body of 22 Teamster local unions in Southern California and other areas of the West, with more than 200,000 working Teamsters and retirees.
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.