The home at 16380 Bluejay Lane, where human trafficking victims were allegedly held, in Willits on May 12, 2016. (Andrew Burton/The Center for Investigative Reporting)
This story was part of a special edition of KQED's The California Report Magazine, produced in collaboration with Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more atrevealnews.org and subscribe to the Reveal podcast, produced with PRX, atrevealnews.org/podcast.
The trees towered above them, limbs etched in black against the night sky. He steered his pickup down a narrow path of mud and rocks and parked in front of a trailer. He tried to kiss her. She froze.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I have to get up early,” she said.
He began groping her body.
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“Don’t you have a wife?” she asked.
The woods seemed to crawl with creatures; the ground was slick with rain. As wilderness pulsed around them, she ran through the possibilities.
If she fled, would she find her way out? If she fought back, would he hurt her?
Would anyone hear her if she screamed?
Listen to the special edition of The California Report Magazine, produced in collaboration with Reveal from The Center for Investigation Reporting:
In the Emerald Triangle, trees are ever present. They peek over small towns and dip into valleys, sheathing this cluster of remote Northern California counties in silence.
For decades, the ancient forests here have provided cover for the nation’s largest marijuana-growing industry, shielding pot farmers from convention, outsiders and law enforcement.
But the forests also hide secrets, among them young women with stories of sexual abuse and exploitation. Some have spoken out; a handful have pressed charges. Most have confided only in private.
Students from the nearest college, Humboldt State University, return from a summer of trimming marijuana buds with tales of being forced to give their boss a blow job to get paid. Other “trimmigrants,” who typically work during the June-to-November harvest, recount offers of higher wages to trim topless.
During one harvest season, two growers began having sex with their teenage trimmer. When they feared she would run away, they locked her inside an oversized toolbox with breathing holes.
Contact with law enforcement is rare and, female trimmigrants say, rarely satisfying.
Verifying their stories is as difficult as finding your way through the forest at night, down twisty dirt roads, to one of the backwoods marijuana farms. During months of reporting in the region, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting unearthed dozens of accounts of sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking. Victims’ advocates say the problem is far larger and, with every harvest, continues to grow.
“Women believe they are getting hired for trimming work, and then they’re drugged and raped,” said Maryann Hayes Mariani, a coordinator for the North Coast Rape Crisis Team. “Everybody looks at (the region) like it’s the Land of Oz. I’m just so tired of pretending like it’s not happening here.”
Yet law enforcement repeatedly has failed to investigate abuse and sexual violence in the industry. Instead, officers mostly focus on what they view as the root cause of the problem: the drug trade.
In the rural counties of Northern California, marijuana is still a largely underground industry, worth billions. Last year, legal California sales alone were valued at $2.7 billion, according to The ArcView Group, a marijuana market research firm. Sales are projected to balloon to $6.4 billion by 2020 if marijuana is legalized for recreational use. It’s big business, drawing busloads of job seekers.
The number of trimmigrants who go missing alone is overwhelming for law enforcement, fueling an epidemic of the lost. In 2015, Humboldt County reported 352 missing people, more per capita than any other county in the state.
When an artist from San Francisco disappeared in the Humboldt County town of Garberville last harvest season, her mother and roommate filed a missing persons report. Months later, she resurfaced to tell her family she had been held against her will on a marijuana farm, drugged and sexually abused. She never formally reported her abuse.
But at the time of her disappearance, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Officehad labeled her a “voluntary missing adult.” They flagged the case as a low priority.
“Many people come to Humboldt each year to work on the marijuana farms,” the deputy who took the report told her roommate in an email. “So far she is falling into the same category as many others have.”
In addition to women and girls who come of their own volition to trim, others are brought in specifically to provide sex services. Come harvest season, escorts flood these rural areas, drawn to the large population of male growers and laborers who spend months at a time alone on isolated mountain farms.
Ron Prose, an investigator for the Eureka Police Department, said sex traffickers know law enforcement agencies have little interest in cracking down on them. None of the county agencies surveyed by Reveal have investigators assigned to human trafficking. Prose himself is semi-retired; he investigates trafficking cases when he has time.
For women, the dangers are due in part to the gender dynamics in the industry. Growing is a male-dominated field, and many growers prefer to hire female trimmers. Several told Reveal that they believe women are more dexterous, making them more efficient workers. Others are looking for company.
“Some of these younger guys don’t have regular relationships because they’re out in the hills growing weed, but they still want a girl,” Prose said. “It sounds kind of crude, but they seek female companionship.”
Of course, many marijuana farms are responsible operations. Most workers describe good experiences, including excellent pay, food and shelter. Many also welcome the unusual working conditions of an industry long at odds with mainstream culture and the law. Drug use on the job, for instance, is common.
In November, California voters will decide whether to fully legalize recreational marijuana. But such use remains illegal under federal and most state laws, and the culture of silence is so embedded in the state’s industry – the nation’s top black market supplier – it seems unlikely that legalization alone will dramatically alter the landscape for women toiling deep in the Emerald Triangle.
“There’s a lot of wilderness here, and dirt roads and acres of forest,” said Amy Benitez, a victims’ advocate in Humboldt County. “There’s a lot of nooks and crannies you can hide in. You add this criminal element to it, where there’s money, and there’s just more ways that you can abuse power and control.”
Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014
That power imbalance is what ensnared a 22-year-old environmentalist and musician who arrived in one of the mountain towns in the middle of the 2014 harvest season looking for trimming work. In Petrolia, Terri – not her real name – found a world apart from her hometown in the Los Angeles Basin.
Petrolia sits beneath the King Range mountains at the edge of Humboldt County, hidden behind a curtain of redwoods and Douglas fir trees. With a population of about 400, it has one general store, one bar, no cellphone service and no police. It’s about two hours down crumbling cliffside roads to the nearest highway. Most locals live in the surrounding mountains, overlooking the forested valley and black sand beaches of the last undeveloped stretch of California known as the Lost Coast.
“I like to think of Petrolia as this little town hanging off the edge of the world,” said Jenoa Briar-Bonpane, a former resident who became Terri’s therapist. “At night, you’ve never seen so many stars.”
Nearly everyone in Petrolia knows each other. Most are involved in marijuana growing to some degree. But like other small towns dotting the Emerald Triangle, in the past decade, more and more people have moved in. Greenhouses have sprung up, enabling industrial-scale marijuana growing. Larger farms have drawn more workers from outside the area.
At first, Terri did not have a job. An acquaintance introduced her to Cedar McCulloch-Clow and Emily Herman, a married couple with two children, a horde of chickens and goats, and a bicycle-strewn junkyard. Terri set up a tent in the couple’s yard, plunked down her violin and camping gear and began looking for work.
She also set about working her way into the community. She went to the weekly farmers market at the community center and ran and biked in the annual Rye and Tide, a 7 1/2-mile race that begins with a swig of whiskey outside the town bar.
Terri found a couple of trimming jobs, including for Sam Epperson and his partner, Rachel Adair. Their operation was far smaller than the region’s newer marijuana fields – known as grows – and had a vegetable garden and turkey coop.
Terri and three other trimmers sat in a row of swivel office chairs in a wood-paneled trimming shack. They wore aprons to keep from tracking loose leaves into the house and carefully tallied the weight of their work – they would be paid $200 a pound – with pencil and paper.
Epperson, quiet and bespectacled with a mop of graying curls, prepared fresh food and drinks for the workers. Every day, he offered them an organic chocolate bar.
One night, on the concrete patio of the town bar – the Yellow Rose – Terri met a grower named Kailan Meserve. He was twice her age, tan and muscular, with a swagger and salt-and-pepper hair. Meserve mentioned he needed trimmers and bought her a beer. A friend of Terri’s, Katie Finnegan, went inside to buy another drink. When Finnegan returned, Terri had disappeared.
Inside, the bar is a bright, airy space with pristine off-white walls and a polished beige floor – a contrast with its often grungy clientele. One side of the bar is lined with light metal cafe tables, the other with pool tables and arcade games. The darkest part of the bar is to the left of the dartboard, a long dim hallway to the single-stall women’s restroom.
About 45 minutes after Finnegan lost track of Terri, court records show she found her unconscious in that bathroom, her pants around her ankles. Terri appeared to have fallen and hit the sink on her way down.
Terri remembered almost nothing about the night. She was concerned something had happened with Meserve. But back on the grow, Epperson and Adair put her at ease: Meserve was a captain of the volunteer fire department, the son of a prominent local environmental activist and politician. Meserve, they said, was married with toddler twins.
“He’s a good guy,” Epperson recalled telling her.
The couple still had work for Terri, but on their small-scale grow, the harvest wouldn’t last long. They encouraged her to take up Meserve on his offer of a trimming job.
That was advice Epperson now says he deeply regrets.
Conservative ranchers and loggers dominated the small population of the Emerald Triangle when hippies began arriving en masse in the late 1960s. They were a diverse bunch, from tree-sitting activists to disillusioned Vietnam veterans.
Kailan Meserve’s father came to Humboldt County as part of the “back to the land” movement. His first home was a teepee on the Mattole River. Later, he built a house in Petrolia, where he, his wife and children lived on wind and solar power, grew produce and raised their own goats, cows and chickens.
At first, marijuana was a recreational drug, grown mostly for personal use. It didn’t stay that way for long. Growers realized they could better support themselves and their families by selling pot on the black market. The climate was ideal, the woods and mountains isolated enough to conceal the illicit crop. The American-grown marijuana industry was born.
From the outset, the children of these growers had more difficulties than their parents. The Summer of Love was over. Across the community, alcohol and drug abuse was rampant. So was law enforcement.
The threat of raids constantly loomed over the Meserve household, threatening to pull the family apart. According to Meserve’s sister, Amy, their parents began using cocaine and alcohol and exploded into constant fights.
“It just got really crazy,” she recalled. “Kailan pretty much raised us.”
When federal Operation Green Sweep touched down in Petrolia in 1990, soldiers flew helicopters overhead and officers confronted families in their homes with M16 rifles. Children learned to lie about the reality of their lives.
“I still have PTSD,” said Sam Epperson, who grew up on a marijuana farm in eastern Humboldt County. “I can hear choppers flying from miles away.”
With law enforcement crackdowns came higher black market prices and greater risks. To protect their crops from theft, many farmers began to carry guns and booby-trap their properties. Residents dealt with crime themselves, avoiding law enforcement whenever possible.
In 1996, California became the first state in the country to legalize medical marijuana. But the law failed to limit the amount of marijuana that could be grown, and law enforcement had no way to determine which plants were cultivated for medical purposes or for profit. Crime and black market growing in the Emerald Triangle soared, including by growers with connections to organized crime, vastly eclipsing local law enforcement’s efforts to stop it.
Lt. Wayne Hanson of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office put it simply: “We lost the drug war many years ago.”
The turmoil prompted some of the children to leave. Kailan Meserve was among the many who stayed. He became a stonemason, specializing in fireplaces, and grew pot on the side.
The “green rush” hit Petrolia in 2010. With California voters considering full legalization, new growers poured into town hoping to get rich. The hippie haven was about to go mainstream.
The law did not pass, but according to friends, Meserve decided that if anyone was going to make money peddling pot, it was going to be him.
“He viewed himself as having that hometown advantage,” Cedar McCulloch-Clow said.
Locals noticed the change. At a party a few years ago, therapist Jenoa Briar-Bonpane recalls looking over the edge of a mountain ridge and spotting two new grow operations below. “Where did those come from?” she wondered. Someone said they belonged to Meserve, and he became the talk of the party.
“There was a sense of, ‘Wow, he’s really blowing things up,’ ” Briar-Bonpane said.
As a big employer in town, and a local, Meserve enjoyed a trust not afforded to outsiders, including a freedom from consequences, according to friends. He’d always had a brash demeanor and a reputation for hitting on women – even after he married in 2001. Over time, those who knew him said he seemed to sink deeper into drugs and alcohol. He was convicted three times for driving under the influence, according to court records, and got into a car crash that seriously injured him and his wife.
He “got a little big for his britches,” Amy Meserve said, “and lost his filter completely.”
None of it seemed to slow down Meserve. His business expanded, and the trimmigrants who showed up in Petrolia looking for work were thankful for it.
Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014
Terri saw Kailan Meserve again at a pingpong tournament. He was one of the few entrusted with a key to the community center and had set up the tables.
Meserve offered to buy Terri drinks several times, according to investigators – and each time, she declined. Around 10 p.m., he asked if she had to time to talk, she recalled, “to clear things up.” He offered to give her a ride home. It was rainy, and without sidewalks and streetlights, a walk home in Petrolia could be treacherous. She agreed. She figured she might also ask him about a job.
Terri was staying about 2 miles from the community center. But Meserve went the opposite direction, turning right toward a dark mass of trees.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I just want to show you where my property is,” she remembers him saying.
Terri started to get a “weird feeling,” according to court records. She told him she had to get up early. He ignored her and continued down the road, turning right again at a metal gate and entering a narrow dirt path into a thicket of towering eucalyptus. Finally, they came to a trailer and stopped. He tried to kiss her. She froze.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “Don’t you have a wife?”
Her mind spun through the possibilities. Could she find her way back if she ran? Would he chase her? Hurt her? Would anyone hear her if she screamed?
It was happening so fast and she could hardly see. Everything outside the beam of the headlights was flooded in black.
Terri declined to be interviewed for this story, but she encouraged friends and community members to open up and gave permission for her therapist, Briar-Bonpane, to speak as well.
“Taking her to a place that was dark, forested, unknown to her,” Briar-Bonpane said, “it’s the most terrifying situation for a woman who’s with a scary man.”
Meserve asked her to go inside. Terri climbed out of the truck and walked into the trailer. She remembers a small kitchen and a bedroom with a bare mattress. Over the next few hours, according to records, Meserve repeatedly penetrated her and forced her to perform oral sex until she gagged.
He held down her arms and at one point throttled her neck. When she began gasping for air, he told her she was “weak and couldn’t take it.” She didn’t scream. The more violent he was, she’d later tell the investigators, the more excited he seemed to become.
“I’m going to make you my bitch,” she recalls him saying, according to court records. He threatened to kill her, freeze her body and throw her to the animals if he ever found out she had slept with anyone else.
Many trimmigrants begin their journey about two hours southeast of Petrolia, in a small strip of a town at the hub of California’s outdoor growing economy. Garberville is surrounded on all sides by mountains of towering redwoods and lined with the kinds of businesses sustained by disposable income, including a spa and a motorcycle dealership. Next door, in Redway, there’s even a pet salon.
Come harvest season, trimmigrants arrive from all over the country and world – college students and artists, working professionals and tourists, homeless hippies and other wanderers. Without connections, they crowd the sidewalks as though on the floor of an auction house, jockeying for jobs with homemade signs. Others camp along the river or in the woods until they find work or try to meet potential employers by frequenting local bars or volunteering at one of the area’s many marijuana-funded nonprofits.
With marijuana fetching black market prices, they expect wages far higher than typical migrant farmworkers – as much as $300 a day, depending on how fast they work. A successful season can fund months of travel, and the experience itself can be an adventure, harkening back to the drug-infused journeys of Grateful Dead fans.
“A lot of cocaine, a lot of Ecstasy, a lot of meth, a lot of heroin,” said Terri’s former employer Rachel Adair. “It’s like a big party.”
But trimmigrants also stumble into a treacherous landscape, both on and off the job. Many locals despise their presence, the trash, the carousing on sidewalks – and the negative impact on tourism. Members of a Garberville group called Locals on Patrol take photographs, check identification and tell people to move on. Anti-trimmigrant bumper stickers have proliferated. “No Work Here, Keep Moving,” they read.
Trimmigrants also serve at the mercy of their bosses, who are themselves vulnerable to the risks of operating in the black market – ranging from robberies to law enforcement stings. As a result, some growers prefer to keep trimmers in the dark about where they are working. Workers and advocates say growers sometimes blindfold trimmers before driving to plots deep in the mountains, locations so remote that they often lack cell service and public transportation.
When conflicts arise, trimmigrants may find themselves fired without pay. Even those who complete the job might never get paid.
At 38 years old, Amy Jarose is among the most experienced trimmigrants. One time, she was working on a farm in the mountains when, she said, the grower began to pressure her for blow jobs and sex. She immediately left on foot, without pay.
“You hitchhike,” Jarose said. “You pack up your bags and hit the road and hope to God a really good person will pick you up.”
Growers often target women for trimming jobs; male trimmers told Reveal they repeatedly were passed up or let go to make room for female workers.
Some women exploit the demand. On Craigslist during the last harvest season, aspiring trimmers posted photos of themselves in bikinis or low-cut tops, accompanied by winking emoticons. One advertisement, offering “Oriental female trimmers,” included the phone number of a sensual massage parlor in Los Angeles. On a community bulletin board in downtown Garberville, a pink lace garter belt adorned one ad, while another read, “We love to cook … and much more.”
Deanna Hirschi once worked as a trimmer but said she soon realized she could earn more by offering sex for pay. She met growers at motels in Garberville or sometimes hours into the mountains.
“The guys on the hills pay $500 an hour,” she said, three or four times the amount she might get in a city. “They’re stuck up on a hill and they come down from the hill for one day, and they’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars in their pocket.”
The demand for female companionship has contributed to sex trafficking in these rural areas from all over the country and world, including from Mexico and Eastern Europe, according to social service providers and victims.
One local trafficking survivor, who goes by the name Elle Snow, started a nonprofit organization to spread awareness in Humboldt County calledGame Over. To measure the demand, she posted fake escort advertisements on the classified ad website Backpage.
Within two months, Snow said, she had accumulated calls and text messages from 437 phone numbers. Many came from southern Humboldt – where Garberville and Petrolia are located – an indication to Snow that many of the potential clients were involved in the marijuana industry.
“Traffickers call Humboldt County not just green for the weed, but green for the bitches,” she said, referring to the money traffickers can make selling women and sex.
Many trimmers welcome the attention, but others do not. Women pair up, even form trimming collectives, counting on safety in numbers.
Paige Radcliff and Emma Less came last season for trimming work, hoping to make enough to fund their own future harvest. During nearly 14-hour days, the two listened to Israeli folk music and bent over plastic tubs in their laps, rotating the buds with the tips of their fingers as they clipped off the stems and curly bits of leaf. “Give it a little haircut,” Radcliff said again and again, until they had piled up 6 pounds of smooth round nuggets and their fingers were coated in potent, sticky brown resin.
“If a girl comes here on her own, I wouldn’t recommend it,” Less said. Prior to finding this job, they encountered growers who hit on them – and they simply walked away.
Radcliff agreed. “Unless you can super defend yourself, or you just give off a super-intimidating vibe where dudes are scared of you.”
“Like a truck driver.”
Or a pirate.
“Exactly, just come across as, like, super peg leg.”
“Think about it,” Less said, over the steady snip of her scissors. “None of this is monitored. No one knows you’re here, not here. It’s easy for people to go missing. It’s easy for people to take advantage.”
Monday, Nov. 10, 2014
Terri showed up for work in a daze the morning after she was assaulted in the forest. Bruises covered her chest and the back of her head. As she picked up her clippers, her boss remembers, she began to cry. She told Rachel Adair that “something inappropriate” had happened with Kailan Meserve and that she was scared.
Adair – an emergency room nurse and midwife – sent Terri to Jenoa Briar-Bonpane, a therapist and friend. Terri told the therapist the rest of the story.
“This is a predator,” Briar-Bonpane recalls thinking. She had treated child sex abuse and rape victims for years, but she was especially struck by how calculating Meserve sounded. “He must be stopped.”
A week later, some of Terri’s former employers called for a meeting, inviting town elders, the local doctor and friends. On a crisp November morning, about a dozen people joined Terri in the home near where she had pitched her tent. They gathered in a somber circle around a heavy oak dining table.
Cedar McCulloch-Clow, 38, with perpetual dirt under his fingernails and a baseball cap on his head, recalls feeling conflicted about the meeting. He had become friends with Terri during her many nights camping on their property. But he also had known Meserve since he was 15.
The room was tense and quiet, except for the sounds of children playing down the hall. Adair remembers wanting to ensure, first and foremost, that Terri was safe. Dr. Dick Scheinman was adamant that they call the police. Most others wanted to find an alternate solution.
Greg Smith, whose family has long grown marijuana, was among the town elders there. “There’s a lot of people who grow pot, and they have a resistance to calling the law,” he said later. “It’s kind of the Wild West in some ways.”
The ideas came in quick succession and were rejected just as quickly. Bring Meserve before a community tribunal. Send a large contingent of men to his doorstep. Gather Petrolia’s population of elderly women and have them chase after him with their shoes.
Smith decided to pay Meserve a visit at home. He urged him to admit he had a problem, show remorse and enroll in therapy and drug and alcohol treatment. Meserve refused, he said, describing the night in the trailer as consensual. Next, Smith approached Fire Chief Travis Howe about kicking Meserve out of the volunteer fire department.
That’s when the group learned this wasn’t the first time Meserve had been accused of rape. A year earlier, a young woman was visiting a friend of Meserve’s. After a night of partying at the Yellow Rose bar, the 31-year-old woman said, Meserve came into her room while she was sleeping and forced himself on her. When he couldn’t maintain an erection, he left, but soon came back and tried again.
The woman never filed a police report, and only a few people in town knew. Howe was one of them.
Howe said he had confronted Meserve, who told him it was consensual. “He messed up terribly, cheating on his wife,” Howe said. “He needed to get spanked.” When Meserve promised to do better, Howe kept him on as a fire captain.
Now the group realized Terri’s experience was not an isolated incident. It was a pattern of behavior.
One week had passed since Terri’s assault. She had expressed little interest in contacting law enforcement. But the group thought something had to be done for the safety of other women.
They asked her to take a step many rape victims dread: Would she call the police?
For victims of sexual assault, the answer often lies beneath layers of fear and shame. Rape usually goes unreported, but trimmigrants face particular pressure to avoid law enforcement. Calling police may rule out future jobs in the industry, especially if that contact alerts police to an illegal grow.
“Hell no, you don’t call the cops on anybody for anything if you want to work in Humboldt,” said Karen Bejcek, a trimmigrant who usually lives in a teepee in Siskiyou County when she’s not trimming.
Other conditions in pot country prevent victims from seeking any kind of help. Trimmigrants often lack the local connections or even the know-how to successfully navigate their way out of the wild, wooded terrain.
Because many work on illegal grows, they suspect law enforcement won’t do anything anyway. And because the industry attracts a young and transient workforce, victims – who may come with their own troubled histories – do not always recognize they are being abused.
One teen from Humboldt County said she started working for a local grower when she was 12. He gave her methamphetamine to speed up her trimming work, she said, and passed her around to pay off his debts.
“If you’re tweaking, you’re good,” she said, touting her trimming prowess. “I did, like, a couple pounds in like one night.”
The girl eventually ran away, reaching a youth homeless shelter in the county seat of Eureka, only to discover that pimps were using it as a hunting ground. At 14, she said, she became their recruiter.
She wasn’t the only one. At least two other shelter residents said men used them to recruit other teens, according to a report later submitted to the state Department of Social Services. The shelter’s executive director, Patt Sweeney, said he was aware teens in the program had been trafficked for sex.
“We’ve made reports to law enforcement,” he said. “It’s just very hard to prosecute.”
In exchange for alcohol and marijuana, the girl brought other teens to parties at local motels, where they were given drugs and alcohol and had sex, sometimes by force. She said the parties drew growers and gang members involved in marijuana distribution. Because she brought girls, she said she was never assaulted – and the music and dancing could be fun. But she doesn’t remember much.
“I was always drunk,” she said with a shrug. “And then we’d just go buy more drugs.”
Many of the girls she met at the shelter and parties also traveled south to trim on marijuana farms. Once there, she said, some found they were expected to do more than trim.
The sales pitch to young girls is common in pot country, according to Leah Gee, the director of a group home in Eureka that housed the girl. “They’ll give you weed, alcohol and food, and all you have to do is trim.”
In 2013, federal prosecutors said two growers picked up a 15-year-old runaway in Hollywood and took her to their farm in Lake County, near Humboldt. They directed her to trim marijuana and have sex with them, sometimes while chained to a metal rack.
In interviews with police after a raid of the farm, the girl described the sex with one of the men as consensual. Sex with the other grower was “not as consensual.”
But she was not free to leave: To keep her from fleeing, the men put her inside an oversized metal toolbox with breathing holes for several days, according to court records, using a garden hose to clean out her waste. The men also shocked the girl with a cattle prod and told her she would be shot by neighbors if she attempted to leave, an employee later told police.
Local prosecutors charged the men with human trafficking, the first case of its kind in the county. But when federal authorities took over the case, the trafficking charge was dropped. The men are expected to plead guilty later this year on charges of illegal marijuana cultivation and employing a minor in a drug operation.
Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014
A deputy sheriff from Humboldt County, Michael Hass, had Terri recount the entire story of her assault over the phone before telling her she had to come in person to make a report – a nearly two-hour drive. The community group that had encouraged her to report made the arrangements. Jenoa Briar-Bonpane went along.
When they arrived at the county sheriff’s office in Eureka, they walked through the metal detector, down a beige cinder-block hallway to a dimly lit window in the waiting room, Briar-Bonpane recalls. They told the receptionist they were there to see Hass.
After several minutes passed, Hass swung open the door, barely making eye contact with Terri. He told her to follow him, but barred Briar-Bonpane from joining her. She told him it was common practice for an advocate to accompany a sexual assault victim to make a report. According to Briar-Bonpane, Hass refused.
Asked about the account, Hass said he did not know that Briar-Bonpane was an advocate and he objected to the many complaints the sheriff’s office later received about his work.
“There were the same complaints that we weren’t taking it seriously and the investigation wasn’t up to the people of Petrolia’s standards,” he said. “From my standpoint, it got handled very seriously.”
Terri agreed to make the report anyway. Hass took her into an empty room and pushed a typed statement based on her telephone account in front of her, Briar-Bonpane said. Terri signed it, and five minutes later, they returned to the waiting room.
“Can you tell us when you’re going to pick him up?” Briar-Bonpane remembers asking, referring to Kailan Meserve.
To file her report, Terri was told she had to come in person. It turned out the same trip was not required of Meserve, Briar-Bonpane said. To her surprise, Hass told her deputies already had interviewed Meserve in Petrolia. Meserve had told them the same story he had told others: The night in the trailer was consensual.
Reveal could not find any record that the deputies ever searched the trailer, and Meserve’s sister, Amy, confirmed that they never did.
“No one in town seems concerned about him,” Hass said, according to Briar-Bonpane. “We’re not going to arrest him. There’s no evidence.”
The news left the group back in Petrolia shocked – and Terri terrified. While she moved from home to home and finally to a motel outside of town, the group began to deluge the sheriff’s office with emails and phone calls. Terri’s friend Katie Finnegan took a day off work to file a complaint with the office about its handling of the case. Residents sent letters to the district attorney, complaining about Hass and urging that Meserve be prosecuted.
“Please do not let this go without a thorough investigation and arrest,” Dick Scheinman, the town doctor, wrote to then-District Attorney Paul Gallegos in December 2014.
A month passed, and he emailed again: “i am not a legal beagle and am not trying to tell you how to do your job, but i feel it is most important for you to try your hardest to find out what happened.”
Meanwhile, Meserve remained in Petrolia. “I am very concerned about the safety of women in the Mattole Valley while he is present there,” Briar-Bonpane wrote to newly elected District Attorney Maggie Fleming in March 2015. “Young boys/men in the valley are watching and learning about whether or not you can sexually assault women without consequences.”
Word of Terri’s allegations reached the woman who had said Meserve raped her the year before. She felt nauseous, then angry. She blamed herself for not reporting it, “because maybe she could have prevented it from happening to the other girl,” an investigator later wrote. About a month after Terri visited Hass, the second victim decided to report her rape. Records show Hass told her to call the district attorney’s office.
The case landed on the desk of Kyla Baxley, the district attorney’s investigator responsible for child abuse and sexual assault cases. She has a reputation for being thorough, going beyond the case information filed by local law enforcement. In 2014, Baxley gathered evidence that allowed the district attorney’s office to prosecute its first human trafficking case.
Time and again, Baxley had seen victims in Humboldt County “not met with the respect they deserve,” she told Reveal. In the Petrolia case, she said, both victims felt blown off by the sheriff’s office.
“It was already a big step for her to take, for her to report it,” she said of Terri. “I was really frustrated, honestly. I felt awful for the poor thing.”
Baxley immediately launched her investigation, making plans to meet Terri in person. She brought in community advocates to support Terri as she shared her story yet again.
“I tried to show her there were a lot of people who supported her and wanted to hear her truth,” Baxley said.
On April 14, 2015, prosecutors filed charges against Meserve for raping both women. Two weeks later, he surrendered.
As the marijuana industry has grown and the trimmigrant population with it, service providers have encountered increasing numbers of human trafficking victims. Humboldt Domestic Violence Services answered more than 2,000 crisis calls last year, an increase of about 80 percent in four years. Executive Director Brenda Bishop attributed the increase to a surge in sexual abuse and trafficking on marijuana grows.
Other organizations have noticed a problem, too, including the Eureka Police Department. In a survey of about 200 local homeless people, Police Chief Andrew Mills said his department discovered many were former trimmigrants who had been forced to work on marijuana farms without pay, including women who reported being required to perform sex acts.
Despite evidence of a growing problem, law enforcement has put few resources into investigations of trafficking and sexual exploitation. Instead, police have conducted stings targeting prostitutes and sometimes their pimps. And the Eureka police chief recently posed as a grower online to attract trimmers, only to warn them not to come.
One reason is that, in this spread-out rural region, there are not enough detectives to go around. In Humboldt County, the sheriff’s office is so overtaxed that many deputies are responsible for investigating crimes – a job typically left to detectives – in addition to responding to 911 calls.
“We have a detective bureau to handle the bad of the bad crimes, and they can’t even keep up with that. So our deputies are more like detectives,” Lt. Wayne Hanson said. “It’s triage.”
A Humboldt native with a bushy gray mustache, Hanson has raided marijuana farms for more than two decades. On the walls of his office are framed photographs and news clips, including one from the day after voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996. In the photograph, Hanson – with a dark brown mustache – stands next to towering piles of marijuana plants.
“This was a warehouse in downtown Eureka, where people were growing marijuana for money. That’s why marijuana is grown – for money, not for medical reasons,” Hanson said. “People are greedy.”
Hanson and other local law enforcement officials see the greed that has amplified California’s marijuana industry as a common denominator in violent and organized crimes. Hanson said many grows also cause environmental damage. As a result, marijuana has remained a high priority for them, even as federal and state authorities have pulled back.
Marijuana raids also have become a large source of revenue for local law enforcement agencies. During raids, officers have confiscated not just harvests, but also money, guns and even farming equipment.
Humboldt County law enforcement agencies made 100 seizures of property and funds last year, including from farmers who had legal permission to grow. The value of the assets totaled more than $2 million – more per capita than was pulled from the state’s 15 most populous counties combined, state data shows. Mendocino County’s marijuana eradication team receives a finder’s fee from a pool of seized funds for every case it initiates, in addition to a nearly 50 percent cut of any confiscated funds.
The result is tantamount to tunnel vision, said Kyla Baxley, the district attorney’s office investigator. “They’re going in to eradicate marijuana, and they would probably tell you nothing else is happening but the drugs.”
That perspective seems to pervade law enforcement agencies across the Emerald Triangle.
In 2014, the year Terri arrived in Petrolia, a young Mexican woman arrived in nearby Mendocino County, ready to start the restaurant job she was promised. Instead, a grower – Baldemar Alvarez – put her to work on several marijuana farms, she said, and forced her to cook, clean his house and have sex with him.
The woman said Alvarez, twice her age, called her a prostitute and said she belonged to him until she reimbursed him for hiring a coyote to bring her into the country illegally. He stoked her fear, telling her she’d get lost in the woods and a bear would feast on her body if she fled.
“All the time, I had fear,” said Carmen (not her real name). “Fear, thinking, ‘If the police catch me, they’re going to arrest me. They’re not going to let me explain, they’re not going to believe me.’ ”
Eventually, Carmen persuaded Alvarez to take her to the doctor for stomach pains, she said. Once there, a nurse-midwife told her she was pregnant, and Carmen shared her story of abuse. When she returned to Alvarez, she left her address behind.
Mendocino County sheriff’s deputies picked up Carmen and the grower a few days later. Carmen was relieved. But at the station, things changed. A detective asked her whether she had made the claims just to get immigration documents, she said. Victims of sexual assault are eligible for a special kind of visa, known as a U-visa. Trafficking victims are eligible for a T-visa.
Carmen’s abuse allegations are documented in police dispatch records, a restraining order and other documents, but the full extent of the investigation is unclear. The detective involved did not respond to interview requests, and the sheriff’s office declined to provide a copy of its investigation, saying it was not yet complete.
Underscoring the he-said, she-said obstacles for law enforcement, Alvarez told Reveal that Carmen fabricated the story to get immigration papers. He told detectives he had planned to marry her. Even though she hasn’t paid him back for her illegal border crossing, he said, he has sent her money on a couple of occasions for the baby.
“This was a big misunderstanding; she’s a backstabber is what I call it,” he said, denying he had abused her or anyone else.
But another woman who had a relationship with the grower and gave birth to one of his children said he repeatedly has brought women, including herself, into the United States from Mexico and abused them. Investigators never contacted her, she said.
As the sun began to rise the morning after deputies took Carmen into custody, she said the detective told her that he had one last request. He put her in a room with Alvarez and had her confront him, to get him to confess. It didn’t work.
“Unfortunately, at this time, we do not have any evidence to detain him,” she recalled the detective saying. “Everything you say, he denies.”
The case against Kailan Meserve was unprecedented – the first time a marijuana grower in Humboldt County had been charged with raping a trimmigrant. In Petrolia, it had created a rift, causing many to question the trust they had placed in the community. Yet outside Petrolia, it captured little attention.
Aside from a local blog, no media outlets covered Meserve’s arrest.
He remained in jail briefly while the prosecutor’s office argued against allowing him to post his $2 million bail. Investigator Kyla Baxley had seen large greenhouses on several of Meserve’s properties and argued that his income had been derived illegally from the cultivation of marijuana. In the end, Meserve’s family and friends pooled funds, and he was released.
Over the next year, he enrolled in treatment for alcohol abuse, according to court records. Facebook photos show he and his family also enjoyed a Disney vacation.
Sam Epperson fell into a deep depression. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was responsible for Terri climbing into Meserve’s truck that night. With harvest season over, Terri had left Petrolia.
Finally, on April 4, 2016, the trial date arrived. Meserve sat next to his lawyer in a courtroom in downtown Eureka, dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks. Terri had returned to take the stand.
“Is this your first time testifying in court? How do you feel about being here?” prosecutor Brie Bennett asked.
“OK,” Terri replied.
She described the night in detail. The feeling of panic, the sexual acts, the violence. She answered questions from the defense attorney about her sex life in Petrolia and a shoplifting conviction from years ago. At one point, her voice began to crack, and she wiped tears from behind her black-framed glasses. Her voice grew faint.
The judge leaned over. “Please speak up,” he said.
The other victim described waking up the morning after the assault, crying and sore. She told her friend she had to go, according to court records, and began the long drive back to San Francisco, making stops to throw up along the way.
On the stand, Meserve denied having a drug problem and called his encounters with Terri and the other woman consensual. Everyone was drunk, he said. No one ever told him to stop.
“Did she say she wanted to go to the trailer?” the prosecutor asked about Terri.
“She never said she didn’t,” Meserve responded.
From her seat in the courtroom, Meserve’s sister, Amy, remembers watching an image take shape that she did not recognize.
“He’s being portrayed like some monster,” she said later. “Obviously, he did not think he was raping anyone. I just don’t think he did. That’s not who he is, that’s not what he’s capable of. I just know if they would have said no or stop or anything, he would have stopped.”
While Meserve’s family attended the trial, most of the group that had supported Terri remained behind in Petrolia. It was a far distance to travel, but it also was painful to watch. Many believed it had been a mistake to contact law enforcement.
“I am friends with his sister and his dad and his mom,” said longtime local grower Greg Smith. “It feels like we’re carrying a big weight on our chest.”
The community of Petrolia was changing, but residents weren’t sure it was for the better. California Gov. Jerry Brown had signed a package of laws that would further regulate the medical marijuana industry, beginning with state-issued licenses in 2018. Many Humboldt County growers have refused to participate. They would not sign up for county permits, the first step toward legal compliance.
To complicate matters, under the new regulations, counties can ban growing altogether, and many have, preserving a highly profitable black market. Competition is increasing, and prices are likely to drop.
In this new future, it seemed, small farmers would struggle financially. Success would mean going big or continuing to sell on the black market. Before his arrest, Meserve had found that success growing marijuana, accruing land, money and power. But some wondered, at what cost?
On April 19, a jury found Meserve guilty of 15 felony counts, including rape and false imprisonment. His wife began to cry as deputies handcuffed him and took him into custody.
When the news reached Petrolia, many in the group that had supported Terri felt deflated instead of relieved. They knew the conviction meant Meserve could end up spending the rest of his life in prison. Smith and Epperson agreed to write letters to the judge urging a lenient sentence.
“I would rather have rehabilitation than punishment,” Smith said. “Some people think it’s impossible with him, but I don’t know. I just have hope that people can change.”
On July 28, the Meserve family and their supporters filed into the courtroom. Meserve’s mother, sister and wife cried as he stood motionless, awaiting the judge’s sentence. Each read from a prepared statement.
“These charges are extreme and overboard,” said his father, David. “These charges are from an enthusiasm for prosecuting people in the marijuana industry.”
“Kailan wants to start an AA group in Petrolia,” said Monica, his wife. “He wants to give back.”
Terri was not there. An advocate read a statement from the second victim.
“Every morsel of self-confidence has left me,” she read. “Humboldt is my home, and I cannot bring myself to visit my friends or family there.”
The judge sentenced Meserve to 23 years in prison.
He did not make a statement in court that day. Through his family, he declined to comment for this story. Terri has since moved out of state.
And, as the harvest season swings into full gear, a new crop of trimmigrants is streaming north, thumbs out, pointing toward the thickly forested mountains of the Emerald Triangle.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the pingpong tournament held at Petrolia’s community center. Only Meserve was involved with the setup.
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Cecil Williams, the beloved social justice activist and longtime pastor of San Francisco’s Glide Memorial Church, died Monday at the age of 94.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams is best known for his stewardship of the Tenderloin neighborhood church that he became pastor of in 1963 and helped develop into a world-renowned congregation and social service nonprofit. As its leader, Williams built and oversaw multiple community outreach programs that have offered crucial support to hundreds of thousands of impoverished residents in the city over the last six decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chief among those initiatives is the Free Meals Program. Launched in 1980, the program provides three free hot meals a day to anyone in need, dishing out hundreds of thousands of meals each year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Willliams also became known for his welcoming approach to the LGBT community and his unflinching support of civil rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One very special thing about Cecil was that he met everyone where they were — literally and spiritually,” said Oakland resident Ernestine Nettles, who has volunteered at Glide for over 50 years, and first met Williams when she was a child. “If you couldn’t make it to the church to get a Thanksgiving meal, volunteers packed them up and brought them out to the streets, handing them out to everyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nettles noted that Williams “embodied the spirit of Christianity” in not passing judgment and loving people as they are. She said he treated everyone as equals, no matter their race, age, background, economic status, sexuality, past, or present.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He is a true example of not only a Christian, but an American,” said Nettles, recalling how Williams championed a range of local and national social justice causes, and even once came to her Oakland high school to help her campaign to allow girls to wear pants. “He was a drum major for justice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"cecil-williams\"]The grandson of a slave, Albert Cecil Williams was born Sept. 22, 1929, and raised in the segregated West Texas town of San Angelo. He was one of six children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After moving to San Francisco, Williams helped revive Glide with Janice Mirikitani, who later became his wife. Mirikitani \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11883109/janice-mirikitani-glide-co-founder-and-sf-poet-laureate-dies\">died in 2021\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the addition of a chorus and a band, Williams’ church soon began hosting spirited, celebratory Sunday services that attracted a diverse swath of parishioners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although he retired as the church’s pastor in 2000, he retained his roles as the Minister of Liberation and CEO of \u003ca href=\"https://www.glide.org/\">the GLIDE Foundation\u003c/a> — organization that now has a more than $20 million budget and thousands of members — until last year, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/rev-cecil-williams-glide-steps-down-17799046.php\">he officially stepped down\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Randy Shaw, the director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, who wrote a book on the history of the neighborhood, said Williams’ leadership of the church was transformative. Many people, he said, don’t realize that when Williams was hired to lead Glide, the congregation was almost down to the single digits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He chose a remarkably unsurprising strategy to rebuild the congregation. He decided to be a fierce advocate for social justice and civil rights. And most controversial for the time, he became an outspoken advocate for lesbian and gay and transgender rights” at a time when San Francisco Police were arresting gay and lesbian people for being in bars, Shaw said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In turning Glide into a major deliverer of social services, Williams became a prolific fundraiser and powerful booster, garnering the support of celebrities and major influencers, the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, Bono and Warren Buffet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cecil was able to make financial connections to donors that no one else in the Tenderloin, and maybe even in San Francisco, could make,” he said. “He was the fiery minister who was urging people to get involved in stuff and fighting for justice and not mincing words about things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Mayor London Breed called Williams “the conscience of our San Francisco community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He spoke out against injustice and he spoke for the marginalized,” she said. “He led with compassion and wisdom, always putting the people first and never relenting in his pursuit of justice and equality. His kindness brought people together and his vision changed our City and the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breed also noted how Williams championed the idea of supportive housing and “wraparound” services for those in need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a young girl, I would never have dreamed I’d grow up to work with him,” she said. “We all benefited from his guidance, his support, and his moral compass. We would not be who we are as a city and a people without the legendary Cecil Williams.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article includes reporting from KQED’s Alex Gonzalez, Matthew Green and Bay City News.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Williams became pastor of Glide in 1963, where he helped build and oversee multiple community outreach programs and social service initiatives that have provided crucial support to hundreds of thousands of impoverished residents in the city over the last 6 decades.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713900349,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":22,"wordCount":818},"headData":{"title":"Cecil Williams, Legendary Pastor of Glide Church, Dies at 94 | KQED","description":"Williams became pastor of Glide in 1963, where he helped build and oversee multiple community outreach programs and social service initiatives that have provided crucial support to hundreds of thousands of impoverished residents in the city over the last 6 decades.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Cecil Williams, Legendary Pastor of Glide Church, Dies at 94","datePublished":"2024-04-23T01:52:17.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-23T19:25:49.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983768/cecil-williams-legendary-pastor-of-glide-church-dies-at-94","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Rev. Cecil Williams, the beloved social justice activist and longtime pastor of San Francisco’s Glide Memorial Church, died Monday at the age of 94.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams is best known for his stewardship of the Tenderloin neighborhood church that he became pastor of in 1963 and helped develop into a world-renowned congregation and social service nonprofit. As its leader, Williams built and oversaw multiple community outreach programs that have offered crucial support to hundreds of thousands of impoverished residents in the city over the last six decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chief among those initiatives is the Free Meals Program. Launched in 1980, the program provides three free hot meals a day to anyone in need, dishing out hundreds of thousands of meals each year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Willliams also became known for his welcoming approach to the LGBT community and his unflinching support of civil rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One very special thing about Cecil was that he met everyone where they were — literally and spiritually,” said Oakland resident Ernestine Nettles, who has volunteered at Glide for over 50 years, and first met Williams when she was a child. “If you couldn’t make it to the church to get a Thanksgiving meal, volunteers packed them up and brought them out to the streets, handing them out to everyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nettles noted that Williams “embodied the spirit of Christianity” in not passing judgment and loving people as they are. She said he treated everyone as equals, no matter their race, age, background, economic status, sexuality, past, or present.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He is a true example of not only a Christian, but an American,” said Nettles, recalling how Williams championed a range of local and national social justice causes, and even once came to her Oakland high school to help her campaign to allow girls to wear pants. “He was a drum major for justice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"related coverage ","tag":"cecil-williams"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The grandson of a slave, Albert Cecil Williams was born Sept. 22, 1929, and raised in the segregated West Texas town of San Angelo. He was one of six children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After moving to San Francisco, Williams helped revive Glide with Janice Mirikitani, who later became his wife. Mirikitani \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11883109/janice-mirikitani-glide-co-founder-and-sf-poet-laureate-dies\">died in 2021\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the addition of a chorus and a band, Williams’ church soon began hosting spirited, celebratory Sunday services that attracted a diverse swath of parishioners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although he retired as the church’s pastor in 2000, he retained his roles as the Minister of Liberation and CEO of \u003ca href=\"https://www.glide.org/\">the GLIDE Foundation\u003c/a> — organization that now has a more than $20 million budget and thousands of members — until last year, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/rev-cecil-williams-glide-steps-down-17799046.php\">he officially stepped down\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Randy Shaw, the director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, who wrote a book on the history of the neighborhood, said Williams’ leadership of the church was transformative. Many people, he said, don’t realize that when Williams was hired to lead Glide, the congregation was almost down to the single digits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He chose a remarkably unsurprising strategy to rebuild the congregation. He decided to be a fierce advocate for social justice and civil rights. And most controversial for the time, he became an outspoken advocate for lesbian and gay and transgender rights” at a time when San Francisco Police were arresting gay and lesbian people for being in bars, Shaw said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In turning Glide into a major deliverer of social services, Williams became a prolific fundraiser and powerful booster, garnering the support of celebrities and major influencers, the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, Bono and Warren Buffet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Cecil was able to make financial connections to donors that no one else in the Tenderloin, and maybe even in San Francisco, could make,” he said. “He was the fiery minister who was urging people to get involved in stuff and fighting for justice and not mincing words about things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Mayor London Breed called Williams “the conscience of our San Francisco community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He spoke out against injustice and he spoke for the marginalized,” she said. “He led with compassion and wisdom, always putting the people first and never relenting in his pursuit of justice and equality. His kindness brought people together and his vision changed our City and the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breed also noted how Williams championed the idea of supportive housing and “wraparound” services for those in need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a young girl, I would never have dreamed I’d grow up to work with him,” she said. “We all benefited from his guidance, his support, and his moral compass. We would not be who we are as a city and a people without the legendary Cecil Williams.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article includes reporting from KQED’s Alex Gonzalez, Matthew Green and Bay City News.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983768/cecil-williams-legendary-pastor-of-glide-church-dies-at-94","authors":["237"],"categories":["news_8"],"tags":["news_29728","news_33981","news_856","news_3181"],"featImg":"news_11983781","label":"news"},"news_11983705":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11983705","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11983705","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"allegations-of-prosecutorial-bias-spark-review-of-death-penalty-convictions-in-alameda-county","title":"Allegations of Prosecutorial Bias Spark Review of Death Penalty Convictions in Alameda County","publishDate":1713820161,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Allegations of Prosecutorial Bias Spark Review of Death Penalty Convictions in Alameda County | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced Monday that a federal judge has directed her office to review all death penalty convictions for signs of prosecutorial misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The directive from Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court of Northern California comes after evidence indicating Alameda County prosecutors may have excluded Black and Jewish jurors was found in the case of Ernest Dykes, who sits on death row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discovery of notes highlighting the race and ethnicity of potential jurors in Dykes’ case has led to the latest allegation that prosecutors systematically prevented Black and Jewish residents from serving on death penalty juries in the 1980s and 1990s. The rejection was based on the belief that Black and Jewish jurors were more likely to oppose the death penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These notes — especially when considered in conjunction with evidence presented in other cases — constitutes strong evidence that, in prior decades, prosecutors from the [Alameda County District Attorney’s office] were engaged in a pattern of serious misconduct, automatically excluding Jewish and African American jurors in death penalty cases,” Judge Chhabria, who will oversee Alameda County’s review, wrote in a Monday court order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The misconduct allegations in the county were the subject of a state Supreme Court hearing in 2005. State and federal law bars prosecutors from removing jurors based on race or ethnicity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983717\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/image-4-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983717\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/image-4-1.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of a court document.\" width=\"600\" height=\"545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/image-4-1.png 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/image-4-1-160x145.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria lifted his order barring the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office from disclosing records of alleged prosecutorial misconduct in death penalty cases on April 22. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the U.S. District Court of Northern California)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Judge Chhabria is very much aware the District Court has reversed a number of convictions based on similar evidence,” Price said. “For too long, prosecutors have not been held to a high standard and have not had accountability.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dykes was convicted in 1995 for the murder of 9-year-old Lance Clark and the attempted murder of his grandmother, Bernice Clark, during a robbery at an East Oakland apartment complex. An appeal of his sentence is currently before Judge Chhabria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, there are currently 37 people on death row who were convicted in Alameda County, including Dykes. Price’s office told KQED it is reviewing 35 cases. The review could lead to resentencing or retrials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983714\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 873px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713819445665.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11983714 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713820027956.png\" alt=\"A screenshot image of a handwritten note.\" width=\"873\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713820027956.png 873w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713820027956-800x478.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713820027956-160x96.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 873px) 100vw, 873px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alameda County District Attorney says the recently discovered 1995 prosecutor’s voir dire notes show a disdain for Black women and a belief they won’t vote for a death sentence. No Black women were selected as jurors in the 1995 trial. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Alameda County District Attorney)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Price said one of her deputies found handwritten notes about potential jurors while reviewing Dykes’ case file at the request of Judge Chhabria. Price’s office shared some of these notes with KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one example concerning a Black female juror, an unnamed prosecutor wrote, “Says race is no issue, but I don’t believe her.” Another note described a different Black female juror as “short, fat, troll,” and that she “seemed put out my Q’s about the D/P — tried to avoid giving direct answer [sic] a lot of ‘I don’t knows’ — don’t believe she could vote D/P.” The unnamed prosecutor, apparently, used “Q’s” as an abbreviation for questions and “D/P” for the death penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983715\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 684px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.56.13-PM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983715\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.56.13-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"684\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.56.13-PM.png 684w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.56.13-PM-160x119.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A deputy district attorney in Alameda County found notes from a 1995 trial that show prosecutors highlighting a prospective juror’s Jewish identity. No Jewish jurors were selected to serve as jurors in the trial. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Alameda County District Attorney)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other notes appear to document whether the author believed prospective jurors were Jewish, writing at the top of a juror questionnaire, “Jew? Yes.” In notes about another juror, “Banker. Jew?” is followed by “Nice guy — thoughtful but never a strong DP leader — Jewish background.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colton Carmine, a former deputy district attorney, was the lead prosecutor in Dykes’ trial. Carmine was assisted in jury selection by former Deputy District Attorney Morris Jacobson, now an Alameda County Superior Court judge. According to Price, it is not clear if the handwriting in the case file belongs to Carmine, Jacobson or someone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No Black or Jewish jurors heard Dykes’ case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carmine could not be reached for comment. Jacobson did not immediately respond to KQED’s request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The notes appear to indicate a disdain for Black women,” Price said. “The fact that they were singled out in the way in which they are in the notes, and ways that other jurors were not, is very telling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys for Dykes, who is at the California Health Care Facility, a state prison for incarcerated patients with protracted medical needs, hope the review creates an opportunity to unearth and address a decadeslong problem.[aside postID=\"news_11980987,news_11983091\" label=\"Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been there for 20 years, and it keeps coming up in cases,” said Brian Pomerantz, who represents Dykes as well as two other people on death row after being convicted in Alameda County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A review of 26 juries conducted by defense attorney Lawrence Gibbs, in conjunction with attorneys for Habeas Corpus Resource Center, found that in death penalty cases between 1984 and 1994, Alameda prosecutors removed every single juror who identified themselves as Jewish and nearly 90% of jurors with apparent Jewish surnames as long as they still had peremptory strikes available to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evidence of systematic removal of Black female and Jewish jurors has led to at least three people convicted in Alameda County being resentenced and is at issue in at least three pending Alameda death penalty appeals, including Dykes’. The allegation was the focus of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-19-me-jewish19-story.html\">2005 state Supreme Court hearing\u003c/a> in which Carmine testified that prosecutors were trained to exclude Jewish jurors. The Supreme Court rejected misconduct claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This should not be the legacy of this office,” Price told KQED. “The prosecutors who participated in this practice — if we determine that they did, in fact, have this practice — undermined the conviction integrity of every one of these cases, and now the victims, the witnesses, and the defendants have to bear the brunt of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The review began a month ago. Price said her office has begun outreach to the survivors and victims of crimes that resulted in death penalty sentences. Her office also created a hotline for people with questions about the review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s outrageous. When you have this kind of misconduct, it impacts them first and foremost because they have been misled,” Price said. “We have to be mindful of the impact that this has on them, and address their needs as well as balancing the right of every defendant to a fair trial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on death sentences. Earlier this month, Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced he would \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-04/santa-clara-county-da-death-penalty-cases\">resentence all 15 people with death row convictions in the county\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In statewide referendums in 2012 and 2016, approximately 60% of Alameda County residents voted in favor of ending the state’s death penalty. The propositions failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, a group of legal advocates led by the Office of the State Public Defender \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-death-penalty-lawsuit-19392576.php\">asked the state Supreme Court\u003c/a> to “bar the prosecution, imposition and execution of death sentences” because the death penalty is disproportionately applied to people of color in California. According to \u003ca href=\"https://statecourtreport.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/california-state-public-defender-petition-for-stays-of-execution.pdf\">their court filings\u003c/a>, Black defendants are roughly nine times more likely to be sentenced to death than defendants of all other races, in part because of the exclusion of people of color from juries, they argued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.clrc.ca.gov/CRPC/Pub/Reports/CRPC_DPR.pdf\">2021 report\u003c/a> by the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code found that between 2010-2020 Alameda juries sent three people to death row. All three are Black.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Price said her office plans to review each case separately. The review may be expanded to include other types of convictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will follow the string or the trail wherever it leads,” Price told KQED. “We will not cover this up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Alameda County District Attorney created a hotline for victims and survivors impacted by death penalty cases. The office can be reached by phone at 510-208-9555 or by email at shawn.mitchell@acgov.org.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The discovery of notes highlighting the race and ethnicity of potential jurors led to the latest allegation that prosecutors prevented Black and Jewish residents from serving on death penalty juries.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713900376,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":31,"wordCount":1447},"headData":{"title":"Allegations of Prosecutorial Bias Spark Review of Death Penalty Convictions in Alameda County | KQED","description":"The discovery of notes highlighting the race and ethnicity of potential jurors led to the latest allegation that prosecutors prevented Black and Jewish residents from serving on death penalty juries.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Allegations of Prosecutorial Bias Spark Review of Death Penalty Convictions in Alameda County","datePublished":"2024-04-22T21:09:21.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-23T19:26:16.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983705/allegations-of-prosecutorial-bias-spark-review-of-death-penalty-convictions-in-alameda-county","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced Monday that a federal judge has directed her office to review all death penalty convictions for signs of prosecutorial misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The directive from Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court of Northern California comes after evidence indicating Alameda County prosecutors may have excluded Black and Jewish jurors was found in the case of Ernest Dykes, who sits on death row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discovery of notes highlighting the race and ethnicity of potential jurors in Dykes’ case has led to the latest allegation that prosecutors systematically prevented Black and Jewish residents from serving on death penalty juries in the 1980s and 1990s. The rejection was based on the belief that Black and Jewish jurors were more likely to oppose the death penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These notes — especially when considered in conjunction with evidence presented in other cases — constitutes strong evidence that, in prior decades, prosecutors from the [Alameda County District Attorney’s office] were engaged in a pattern of serious misconduct, automatically excluding Jewish and African American jurors in death penalty cases,” Judge Chhabria, who will oversee Alameda County’s review, wrote in a Monday court order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The misconduct allegations in the county were the subject of a state Supreme Court hearing in 2005. State and federal law bars prosecutors from removing jurors based on race or ethnicity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983717\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/image-4-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983717\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/image-4-1.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of a court document.\" width=\"600\" height=\"545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/image-4-1.png 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/image-4-1-160x145.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria lifted his order barring the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office from disclosing records of alleged prosecutorial misconduct in death penalty cases on April 22. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the U.S. District Court of Northern California)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Judge Chhabria is very much aware the District Court has reversed a number of convictions based on similar evidence,” Price said. “For too long, prosecutors have not been held to a high standard and have not had accountability.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dykes was convicted in 1995 for the murder of 9-year-old Lance Clark and the attempted murder of his grandmother, Bernice Clark, during a robbery at an East Oakland apartment complex. An appeal of his sentence is currently before Judge Chhabria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, there are currently 37 people on death row who were convicted in Alameda County, including Dykes. Price’s office told KQED it is reviewing 35 cases. The review could lead to resentencing or retrials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983714\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 873px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713819445665.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11983714 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713820027956.png\" alt=\"A screenshot image of a handwritten note.\" width=\"873\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713820027956.png 873w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713820027956-800x478.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.55.58-PM-e1713820027956-160x96.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 873px) 100vw, 873px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alameda County District Attorney says the recently discovered 1995 prosecutor’s voir dire notes show a disdain for Black women and a belief they won’t vote for a death sentence. No Black women were selected as jurors in the 1995 trial. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Alameda County District Attorney)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Price said one of her deputies found handwritten notes about potential jurors while reviewing Dykes’ case file at the request of Judge Chhabria. Price’s office shared some of these notes with KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one example concerning a Black female juror, an unnamed prosecutor wrote, “Says race is no issue, but I don’t believe her.” Another note described a different Black female juror as “short, fat, troll,” and that she “seemed put out my Q’s about the D/P — tried to avoid giving direct answer [sic] a lot of ‘I don’t knows’ — don’t believe she could vote D/P.” The unnamed prosecutor, apparently, used “Q’s” as an abbreviation for questions and “D/P” for the death penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983715\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 684px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.56.13-PM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983715\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.56.13-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"684\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.56.13-PM.png 684w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-22-at-1.56.13-PM-160x119.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A deputy district attorney in Alameda County found notes from a 1995 trial that show prosecutors highlighting a prospective juror’s Jewish identity. No Jewish jurors were selected to serve as jurors in the trial. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Alameda County District Attorney)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other notes appear to document whether the author believed prospective jurors were Jewish, writing at the top of a juror questionnaire, “Jew? Yes.” In notes about another juror, “Banker. Jew?” is followed by “Nice guy — thoughtful but never a strong DP leader — Jewish background.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colton Carmine, a former deputy district attorney, was the lead prosecutor in Dykes’ trial. Carmine was assisted in jury selection by former Deputy District Attorney Morris Jacobson, now an Alameda County Superior Court judge. According to Price, it is not clear if the handwriting in the case file belongs to Carmine, Jacobson or someone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No Black or Jewish jurors heard Dykes’ case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carmine could not be reached for comment. Jacobson did not immediately respond to KQED’s request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The notes appear to indicate a disdain for Black women,” Price said. “The fact that they were singled out in the way in which they are in the notes, and ways that other jurors were not, is very telling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys for Dykes, who is at the California Health Care Facility, a state prison for incarcerated patients with protracted medical needs, hope the review creates an opportunity to unearth and address a decadeslong problem.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11980987,news_11983091","label":"Related Stories "},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been there for 20 years, and it keeps coming up in cases,” said Brian Pomerantz, who represents Dykes as well as two other people on death row after being convicted in Alameda County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A review of 26 juries conducted by defense attorney Lawrence Gibbs, in conjunction with attorneys for Habeas Corpus Resource Center, found that in death penalty cases between 1984 and 1994, Alameda prosecutors removed every single juror who identified themselves as Jewish and nearly 90% of jurors with apparent Jewish surnames as long as they still had peremptory strikes available to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evidence of systematic removal of Black female and Jewish jurors has led to at least three people convicted in Alameda County being resentenced and is at issue in at least three pending Alameda death penalty appeals, including Dykes’. The allegation was the focus of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-19-me-jewish19-story.html\">2005 state Supreme Court hearing\u003c/a> in which Carmine testified that prosecutors were trained to exclude Jewish jurors. The Supreme Court rejected misconduct claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This should not be the legacy of this office,” Price told KQED. “The prosecutors who participated in this practice — if we determine that they did, in fact, have this practice — undermined the conviction integrity of every one of these cases, and now the victims, the witnesses, and the defendants have to bear the brunt of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The review began a month ago. Price said her office has begun outreach to the survivors and victims of crimes that resulted in death penalty sentences. Her office also created a hotline for people with questions about the review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s outrageous. When you have this kind of misconduct, it impacts them first and foremost because they have been misled,” Price said. “We have to be mindful of the impact that this has on them, and address their needs as well as balancing the right of every defendant to a fair trial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on death sentences. Earlier this month, Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced he would \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-04/santa-clara-county-da-death-penalty-cases\">resentence all 15 people with death row convictions in the county\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In statewide referendums in 2012 and 2016, approximately 60% of Alameda County residents voted in favor of ending the state’s death penalty. The propositions failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, a group of legal advocates led by the Office of the State Public Defender \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-death-penalty-lawsuit-19392576.php\">asked the state Supreme Court\u003c/a> to “bar the prosecution, imposition and execution of death sentences” because the death penalty is disproportionately applied to people of color in California. According to \u003ca href=\"https://statecourtreport.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/california-state-public-defender-petition-for-stays-of-execution.pdf\">their court filings\u003c/a>, Black defendants are roughly nine times more likely to be sentenced to death than defendants of all other races, in part because of the exclusion of people of color from juries, they argued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.clrc.ca.gov/CRPC/Pub/Reports/CRPC_DPR.pdf\">2021 report\u003c/a> by the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code found that between 2010-2020 Alameda juries sent three people to death row. All three are Black.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Price said her office plans to review each case separately. The review may be expanded to include other types of convictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will follow the string or the trail wherever it leads,” Price told KQED. “We will not cover this up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Alameda County District Attorney created a hotline for victims and survivors impacted by death penalty cases. The office can be reached by phone at 510-208-9555 or by email at shawn.mitchell@acgov.org.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983705/allegations-of-prosecutorial-bias-spark-review-of-death-penalty-convictions-in-alameda-county","authors":["11772"],"categories":["news_6188","news_8"],"tags":["news_21126","news_23318","news_18282","news_27626","news_20310","news_24461","news_25944"],"featImg":"news_11983711","label":"news"},"news_11983498":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11983498","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11983498","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"oak-name-change","title":"Why Renaming Oakland's Airport Is a Big Deal","publishDate":1713780047,"format":"audio","headTitle":"Why Renaming Oakland’s Airport Is a Big Deal | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oakland officials are moving ahead with a plan to rename the city’s airport \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Residents, business groups, and airlines all have a lot to say about it, and San Francisco has also filed a lawsuit to try and stop the renaming from happening. The Oaklandside’s Eli Wolfe joins us to talk about why the name change feels existential. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Editor’s note: Oakland International Airport is a financial supporter of KQED. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"card card--enclosed grey\">\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6241795424&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to the Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Oakland plans to change Oakland International airports name to the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. The Port of Oakland, which owns the airport, wants more travelers to see Oakland as a main travel hub when they come to the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>This isn’t just a rebrand. This is really trying to make a play to make Oakland more relevant, both in the Bay, but I mean around the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>But there are a bunch of reasons why different groups are not down for this change. And last Thursday, San Francisco sued to try and stop the renaming from happening. Today, the Oakland side’s Eli Wolfe: explains why renaming o k is existential. Quick note before we start. The Port of Oakland is a financial supporter of KQED. Financial supporters have no input on new stories about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>So this discussion has been going on at least since last summer. The airport put out a survey to residents in the East Bay, basically trying to gauge their comfort level with a name change that would better reflect the airport’s proximity to the San Francisco Bay. But they didn’t really give much of a hint as to what the specific name would look like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>That only really came out a couple weeks ago, when the port announced that it was going to be meeting to give preliminary approval to a new name change, with San Francisco at the head of the title to the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. Unless something changes in the next couple of weeks, that is going to likely be the name for Oakland Airport going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, why change the name at all? Like, what is the problem? The Port Commission is trying to solve by changing the name of the airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>So the problem basically boils down to this. The port claims that people just don’t know where Oakland is located. That people don’t realize that Oakland is very close to San Francisco, which is where a lot of fliers want to go. The port is tried for many years to play up Oakland’s proximity to San Francisco and the rest of the Bay and its marketing, but it hasn’t really worked out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>And you can see that with the flights from 2008 to 2024, the port attracted 54 new direct flight routes, but lost 45. So the port officials basically say this is an indicator that when people are traveling to San Francisco, Oakland International just doesn’t really show up as an option for them. And so carriers have less incentive to fly into Oakland. The port ‘s executive director, Danny Wan, has actually called that the Achilles heel of the airport’s marketing strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Danny Wan: \u003c/strong>As much as we’ve done, we brought these new destinations come to Oakland and yet we lose them because partly because of a lack of geographic identification. This is to accurately bring Oakland and okay to the forefront of where we are on the San Francisco Bay. Instead of being the background of the Bay area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>The supporters mainly consist of obviously the Port Commission and the airport, but also the airlines that use Oakland are very enthusiastic about this. They think it’s going to allow them to do more business here. You also see a lot of support from East Bay tourism and business associations. They have every incentive to want more people to fly to Oakland, because those people are more likely to spend their dollars in Oakland and other cities in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>And obviously, the Port Commissioners themselves are very enthusiastic about this, and they claim that there’s widespread support among Oakland residents and East Bay residents. There were a couple surveys that the port released that found that most respondents that they talked to were comfortable with the idea of a name change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Danny Wan: \u003c/strong>And so this is about being pro Oakland, bringing that necessary flights and people to Oakland as well as the East Bay Bay region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Coming up, the arguments against the renaming and why the most vocal opponents are suing over it. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What about the opposition?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>There’s a few different groups. First off, San Francisco does not like this. Airport officials have said that this is going to confuse passengers, especially people who don’t read or speak English. They kind of have painted scenarios where people might fly into Oakland thinking that they are landing in San Francisco. And one of the other opponents of the name change is San Mateo County, which of course actually is the place where SFO is located.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>San Francisco tourism and business associations also really not big fans of this. There are also local communities that are not fans of this. The Oakland NAACP has come out against this, saying that, you know, this is erasure of Oakland’s history and culture. Local environmental groups are also not fans of this, because this will theoretically lead to more air travel to Oakland, which means more air pollution that will impact communities in East Oakland, especially, that have been disproportionately affected by air pollution and other environmental issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>There’s a coalition of about 75 environmental groups called Stop Oak Expansion. They are focused on the name change, partly because they don’t want to see more passengers coming into Oakland, but also because they feel like this sort of exposes that the airport is trying to justify a big expansion project that has been planned for a couple of years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Going back to in San Francisco. Are they basically concerned that okay is trying to steal its thunder?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>Yeah. And the city of San Francisco is prepared to take some drastic steps here. They they actually sued the city. The city’s argument is basically that by putting San Francisco in Oakland Airport’s title, they are infringing on the trademark of San Francisco’s airport. They do cite, I think, one example in the suit of a case where the new name for Oakland Airport has already showed up for an international carrier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>What they keep talking about is the idea that this is going to be misleading or confusing to people. But as you know, people have pointed out, I mean, there’s a lot of cities around the world that have multiple airports that have similar names. I think London has something like, I don’t know, 5 or 6 different airports that all start with London.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>So people question whether there’s actually really going to be confusion there. And I think that some folks believe that what’s actually happening is this will make Oakland potentially more competitive to San Francisco. So airport officials in San Francisco and business leaders, they have a real market incentive to not see this go through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What responses have you heard from readers, especially in Oakland, about the name change?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>People are mixed on it. Some folks have taken kind of a practical stance, sort of like aligning with the port, saying this is necessary. They also were citing the fact that Oakland is facing a massive budget deficit this year again. They really want to see tourism dollars flow through the region so that the city can afford to pay for services that people rely on. But, you know, people also are upset about this. And harkening back to what I was mentioning earlier about what the Oakland NAACP has said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>They see it as erasure of the city. Some folks. On Reddit, you saw that there were a number of folks who are not fans of this idea and were asking, why can’t you do something like a headline that says Oakland San Francisco Airport or Oakland Golden Gate International? Why not highlight something unique to Oakland that is eye catching, like call it E-40 international? I don’t know if that would ever really fly with the port, but people are bringing up interesting ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>How likely do you think the name change is actually going to go through?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>I think it’s likely the Port commissioners voted unanimously in approval of this. If you listen back to the, April 11th meeting where they granted preliminary approval, the commissioners were unanimous in their support, and they were incredibly enthusiastic about it. Almost all of them shared stories about how convenient it is to travel through Oakland Airport, and how much they hate having to fly through San Francisco Airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>They did allow this sort of several week period where they’re going to continue collecting feedback from members of the community, or at least receiving feedback if anyone wants to contact them. But I would say that the safe bet is that they are going to approve this name change, even with the pending lawsuit in front of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Yeah, I know you asked the Port of Oakland for comment on that lawsuit, and their response was pretty interesting. They they wrote to you in part, quote, we will vigorously defend our right to claim our spot on the San Francisco Bay. We are standing up for Oakland and our East Bay community. I mean, kind of dramatic, I got to say like a pretty strong response. I’m curious what you make of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>Yeah. I mean, I think that this is really for them. This is a big step for not just Oakland but the East Bay. I should note Oakland relies heavily on business travel and that hasn’t recovered since the pandemic. So they really need something to work out here where they will get more travel coming through here. This isn’t just a rebrand. This is really trying to make a play to make Oakland more relevant, both in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>But I mean around the world. They are quite literally trying to put Oakland on the map in a way that makes it relevant to people, makes it attractive to people. So the stakes are really high here, even though this boils down to a name change, which I think some people think might feel a little silly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, I thank you so much for chatting with us about this and for taking the time. I really appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>Yeah. Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Eli Wolfe, City Hall reporter for the Oaklandside. This 18 minute conversation with Eli was cut down and edited by producer Maria Esquinca. I scored this episode and added all the tape. Our senior editor is Alan Montecillo. Music courtesy of Universal Production Music and First Call Music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The Bay is a listener supported production of KQED Public Media in San Francisco. You can support our work by becoming a KQED Sustaining Member, which you can do by going to KQED.org/Donate. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"In this episode of The Bay, we talk about the controversial effort to rename Oakland's airport.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713905553,"stats":{"hasAudio":true,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":40,"wordCount":2071},"headData":{"title":"Why Renaming Oakland's Airport Is a Big Deal | KQED","description":"In this episode of The Bay, we talk about the controversial effort to rename Oakland's airport.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Why Renaming Oakland's Airport Is a Big Deal","datePublished":"2024-04-22T10:00:47.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-23T20:52:33.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"source":"The Bay","audioUrl":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/chrt.fm/track/G6C7C3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC6241795424.mp3?updated=1713557365","sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983498/oak-name-change","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oakland officials are moving ahead with a plan to rename the city’s airport \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Residents, business groups, and airlines all have a lot to say about it, and San Francisco has also filed a lawsuit to try and stop the renaming from happening. The Oaklandside’s Eli Wolfe joins us to talk about why the name change feels existential. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Editor’s note: Oakland International Airport is a financial supporter of KQED. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"card card--enclosed grey\">\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6241795424&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to the Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Oakland plans to change Oakland International airports name to the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. The Port of Oakland, which owns the airport, wants more travelers to see Oakland as a main travel hub when they come to the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>This isn’t just a rebrand. This is really trying to make a play to make Oakland more relevant, both in the Bay, but I mean around the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>But there are a bunch of reasons why different groups are not down for this change. And last Thursday, San Francisco sued to try and stop the renaming from happening. Today, the Oakland side’s Eli Wolfe: explains why renaming o k is existential. Quick note before we start. The Port of Oakland is a financial supporter of KQED. Financial supporters have no input on new stories about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>So this discussion has been going on at least since last summer. The airport put out a survey to residents in the East Bay, basically trying to gauge their comfort level with a name change that would better reflect the airport’s proximity to the San Francisco Bay. But they didn’t really give much of a hint as to what the specific name would look like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>That only really came out a couple weeks ago, when the port announced that it was going to be meeting to give preliminary approval to a new name change, with San Francisco at the head of the title to the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. Unless something changes in the next couple of weeks, that is going to likely be the name for Oakland Airport going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, why change the name at all? Like, what is the problem? The Port Commission is trying to solve by changing the name of the airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>So the problem basically boils down to this. The port claims that people just don’t know where Oakland is located. That people don’t realize that Oakland is very close to San Francisco, which is where a lot of fliers want to go. The port is tried for many years to play up Oakland’s proximity to San Francisco and the rest of the Bay and its marketing, but it hasn’t really worked out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>And you can see that with the flights from 2008 to 2024, the port attracted 54 new direct flight routes, but lost 45. So the port officials basically say this is an indicator that when people are traveling to San Francisco, Oakland International just doesn’t really show up as an option for them. And so carriers have less incentive to fly into Oakland. The port ‘s executive director, Danny Wan, has actually called that the Achilles heel of the airport’s marketing strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Danny Wan: \u003c/strong>As much as we’ve done, we brought these new destinations come to Oakland and yet we lose them because partly because of a lack of geographic identification. This is to accurately bring Oakland and okay to the forefront of where we are on the San Francisco Bay. Instead of being the background of the Bay area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>The supporters mainly consist of obviously the Port Commission and the airport, but also the airlines that use Oakland are very enthusiastic about this. They think it’s going to allow them to do more business here. You also see a lot of support from East Bay tourism and business associations. They have every incentive to want more people to fly to Oakland, because those people are more likely to spend their dollars in Oakland and other cities in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>And obviously, the Port Commissioners themselves are very enthusiastic about this, and they claim that there’s widespread support among Oakland residents and East Bay residents. There were a couple surveys that the port released that found that most respondents that they talked to were comfortable with the idea of a name change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Danny Wan: \u003c/strong>And so this is about being pro Oakland, bringing that necessary flights and people to Oakland as well as the East Bay Bay region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Coming up, the arguments against the renaming and why the most vocal opponents are suing over it. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What about the opposition?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>There’s a few different groups. First off, San Francisco does not like this. Airport officials have said that this is going to confuse passengers, especially people who don’t read or speak English. They kind of have painted scenarios where people might fly into Oakland thinking that they are landing in San Francisco. And one of the other opponents of the name change is San Mateo County, which of course actually is the place where SFO is located.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>San Francisco tourism and business associations also really not big fans of this. There are also local communities that are not fans of this. The Oakland NAACP has come out against this, saying that, you know, this is erasure of Oakland’s history and culture. Local environmental groups are also not fans of this, because this will theoretically lead to more air travel to Oakland, which means more air pollution that will impact communities in East Oakland, especially, that have been disproportionately affected by air pollution and other environmental issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>There’s a coalition of about 75 environmental groups called Stop Oak Expansion. They are focused on the name change, partly because they don’t want to see more passengers coming into Oakland, but also because they feel like this sort of exposes that the airport is trying to justify a big expansion project that has been planned for a couple of years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Going back to in San Francisco. Are they basically concerned that okay is trying to steal its thunder?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>Yeah. And the city of San Francisco is prepared to take some drastic steps here. They they actually sued the city. The city’s argument is basically that by putting San Francisco in Oakland Airport’s title, they are infringing on the trademark of San Francisco’s airport. They do cite, I think, one example in the suit of a case where the new name for Oakland Airport has already showed up for an international carrier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>What they keep talking about is the idea that this is going to be misleading or confusing to people. But as you know, people have pointed out, I mean, there’s a lot of cities around the world that have multiple airports that have similar names. I think London has something like, I don’t know, 5 or 6 different airports that all start with London.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>So people question whether there’s actually really going to be confusion there. And I think that some folks believe that what’s actually happening is this will make Oakland potentially more competitive to San Francisco. So airport officials in San Francisco and business leaders, they have a real market incentive to not see this go through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What responses have you heard from readers, especially in Oakland, about the name change?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>People are mixed on it. Some folks have taken kind of a practical stance, sort of like aligning with the port, saying this is necessary. They also were citing the fact that Oakland is facing a massive budget deficit this year again. They really want to see tourism dollars flow through the region so that the city can afford to pay for services that people rely on. But, you know, people also are upset about this. And harkening back to what I was mentioning earlier about what the Oakland NAACP has said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>They see it as erasure of the city. Some folks. On Reddit, you saw that there were a number of folks who are not fans of this idea and were asking, why can’t you do something like a headline that says Oakland San Francisco Airport or Oakland Golden Gate International? Why not highlight something unique to Oakland that is eye catching, like call it E-40 international? I don’t know if that would ever really fly with the port, but people are bringing up interesting ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>How likely do you think the name change is actually going to go through?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>I think it’s likely the Port commissioners voted unanimously in approval of this. If you listen back to the, April 11th meeting where they granted preliminary approval, the commissioners were unanimous in their support, and they were incredibly enthusiastic about it. Almost all of them shared stories about how convenient it is to travel through Oakland Airport, and how much they hate having to fly through San Francisco Airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>They did allow this sort of several week period where they’re going to continue collecting feedback from members of the community, or at least receiving feedback if anyone wants to contact them. But I would say that the safe bet is that they are going to approve this name change, even with the pending lawsuit in front of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Yeah, I know you asked the Port of Oakland for comment on that lawsuit, and their response was pretty interesting. They they wrote to you in part, quote, we will vigorously defend our right to claim our spot on the San Francisco Bay. We are standing up for Oakland and our East Bay community. I mean, kind of dramatic, I got to say like a pretty strong response. I’m curious what you make of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>Yeah. I mean, I think that this is really for them. This is a big step for not just Oakland but the East Bay. I should note Oakland relies heavily on business travel and that hasn’t recovered since the pandemic. So they really need something to work out here where they will get more travel coming through here. This isn’t just a rebrand. This is really trying to make a play to make Oakland more relevant, both in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>But I mean around the world. They are quite literally trying to put Oakland on the map in a way that makes it relevant to people, makes it attractive to people. So the stakes are really high here, even though this boils down to a name change, which I think some people think might feel a little silly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, I thank you so much for chatting with us about this and for taking the time. I really appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Eli Wolfe: \u003c/strong>Yeah. Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Eli Wolfe, City Hall reporter for the Oaklandside. This 18 minute conversation with Eli was cut down and edited by producer Maria Esquinca. I scored this episode and added all the tape. Our senior editor is Alan Montecillo. Music courtesy of Universal Production Music and First Call Music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The Bay is a listener supported production of KQED Public Media in San Francisco. You can support our work by becoming a KQED Sustaining Member, which you can do by going to KQED.org/Donate. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983498/oak-name-change","authors":["8654","11802","11649"],"categories":["news_8"],"tags":["news_33812","news_33915","news_22598"],"featImg":"news_11982792","label":"source_news_11983498"},"news_11983752":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11983752","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11983752","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"nurses-warn-patient-safety-at-risk-as-ai-use-spreads-in-health-care","title":"Nurses Warn Patient Safety at Risk as AI Use Spreads in Health Care","publishDate":1713832725,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Nurses Warn Patient Safety at Risk as AI Use Spreads in Health Care | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>As the use of artificial intelligence proliferates in the health care industry, Bay Area unionized nurses call for greater transparency and say in how the technologies are deployed to minimize risks to patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a protest on Monday outside of Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco Medical Center, many in the estimated crowd of about 200 members of the California Nurses Association held red signs that read “Patients are not algorithms” and “Trust nurses, not AI.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All health care corporations need to make sure that the technology is tested, it’s valid, and it’s not harmful to patients,” said Michelle Gutierrez Vo, a president at CNA, representing 24,000 nurses at Kaiser Permanente. “And before they deploy it, they need to sit down with nurses so that the nurses can review and make sure it’s congruent with patient safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983730\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing sun glasses and a red shirt holds a microphone in front of people while she stands behind a podium with a red sign in the background.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Gutierrez Vo, a registered nurse at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fremont and a California Nurses Association president, speaks during a rally alongside fellow nurses from across California at Kaiser Permanente on Geary Blvd in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to advocate for patient safety in the face of artificial intelligence technology. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gutierrez Vo and other nurses worry that without proper oversight and accountability, health care employers will use AI to replace nurses and other medical professionals for profit, to the detriment of patient care. The nurses are calling for health care organizations to hit pause on the rollout of new AI technologies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This comes as state and federal regulators race to catch up with the explosive growth of generative AI tools, which experts say also have great potential to improve health care delivery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11976097,news_11980719,news_11982218\" label=\"Related Stories\"]Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest employers in San Francisco, Alameda and other Bay Area counties, has been an early adopter of AI. Company officials \u003ca href=\"https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/news/fostering-responsible-ai-in-health-care\">have said\u003c/a> they rigorously test the tools they use for safety, accuracy and equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our physicians and care teams are always at the center of decision-making with our patients,” a Kaiser Permanente statement said in response to a KQED request for comment. “We believe that AI may be able to help our physicians and employees and enhance our members’ experience. As an organization dedicated to inclusiveness and health equity, we ensure the results from AI tools are correct and unbiased; AI does not replace human assessment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One program in use at 21 Kaiser hospitals in Northern California is the Advance Alert Monitor, which analyzes electronic health data to notify a nursing team when a patient’s health is at risk of serious decline. The program saves about 500 lives per year, according to the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983733\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-scaled.jpg\" alt='Many people dressed in scrubs hold red signs that say \"Trust Nurses Not AI\" in the street.' width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nurses from across California rally at Kaiser Permanente on Geary Blvd in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to advocate for patient safety in the face of artificial intelligence technology. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Gutierrez Vo said nurses have flagged problems with the tool, such as producing inaccurate alarms or failing to detect all patients whose health is quickly deteriorating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s just so much buzz right now that this is the future of health care. These health care corporations are using this as a shortcut, as a way to handle patient load. And we’re saying ‘No. You cannot do that without making sure these systems are safe,’” said Gutierrez Vo, a nurse with 25 years of experience at the company’s Fremont Adult Family Medicine clinic. “Our patients are not lab rats.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized some AI-generated services before they go to market, but mostly \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/28/ai-doctors-healthcare-regulation-00124051\">without the comprehensive data\u003c/a> required for new medicines. Last fall, President Joe Biden issued an \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">executive order\u003c/a> on the safe use of AI, which includes a directive to develop policies for AI-enabled technologies in health services that promote “the welfare of patients and workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very good to have open discussions because the technology is moving at such a fast pace, and everyone is at a different level of understanding of what it can do and [what] it is,” said Dr. Ashish Atreja, Chief Information and Digital Health Officer at UC Davis Health. “Many health systems and organizations do have guardrails in place, but perhaps they haven’t been shared that widely. That’s why there’s a knowledge gap.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983727\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983727\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing sun glasses and a red shirt stands in a crowd with red signs in the background.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandra Larkin listens to speakers alongside fellow nurses from across California during a rally at Kaiser Permanente on Geary Blvd in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to advocate for patient safety in the face of artificial intelligence technology. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UC Davis Health is part of a \u003ca href=\"https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/uc-davis-health-and-leading-health-systems-launch-valid-ai/2023/10\">collaboration\u003c/a> with other health systems to implement generative and other types of AI with what Atreja referred to as “intentionality” to support their workforce and improve patient care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have this mission that no patient, no clinician, no researcher, no employee gets left behind in getting advantage from the latest technologies,” Atreja said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Robert Pearl, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate Business School and a former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente), told KQED he agreed with the nurses’ concerns about the use of AI at their workplace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Generative AI is a threatening technology but also a positive one. What is the best for the patient? That has to be the number one concern,” said Pearl, author of “ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine,” which he said he co-wrote with the AI system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m optimistic about what it can do for patients,” he said. “I often tell people that generative AI is like the iPhone. It’s not going away.”\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"At a protest in San Francisco, nurses say health care employers must ensure the artificial intelligence tools they use do not harm patients.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713834971,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":19,"wordCount":1003},"headData":{"title":"Nurses Warn Patient Safety at Risk as AI Use Spreads in Health Care | KQED","description":"At a protest in San Francisco, nurses say health care employers must ensure the artificial intelligence tools they use do not harm patients.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Nurses Warn Patient Safety at Risk as AI Use Spreads in Health Care","datePublished":"2024-04-23T00:38:45.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-23T01:16:11.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983752/nurses-warn-patient-safety-at-risk-as-ai-use-spreads-in-health-care","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As the use of artificial intelligence proliferates in the health care industry, Bay Area unionized nurses call for greater transparency and say in how the technologies are deployed to minimize risks to patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a protest on Monday outside of Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco Medical Center, many in the estimated crowd of about 200 members of the California Nurses Association held red signs that read “Patients are not algorithms” and “Trust nurses, not AI.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All health care corporations need to make sure that the technology is tested, it’s valid, and it’s not harmful to patients,” said Michelle Gutierrez Vo, a president at CNA, representing 24,000 nurses at Kaiser Permanente. “And before they deploy it, they need to sit down with nurses so that the nurses can review and make sure it’s congruent with patient safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983730\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing sun glasses and a red shirt holds a microphone in front of people while she stands behind a podium with a red sign in the background.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-33-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelle Gutierrez Vo, a registered nurse at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fremont and a California Nurses Association president, speaks during a rally alongside fellow nurses from across California at Kaiser Permanente on Geary Blvd in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to advocate for patient safety in the face of artificial intelligence technology. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gutierrez Vo and other nurses worry that without proper oversight and accountability, health care employers will use AI to replace nurses and other medical professionals for profit, to the detriment of patient care. The nurses are calling for health care organizations to hit pause on the rollout of new AI technologies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This comes as state and federal regulators race to catch up with the explosive growth of generative AI tools, which experts say also have great potential to improve health care delivery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11976097,news_11980719,news_11982218","label":"Related Stories "},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest employers in San Francisco, Alameda and other Bay Area counties, has been an early adopter of AI. Company officials \u003ca href=\"https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/news/fostering-responsible-ai-in-health-care\">have said\u003c/a> they rigorously test the tools they use for safety, accuracy and equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our physicians and care teams are always at the center of decision-making with our patients,” a Kaiser Permanente statement said in response to a KQED request for comment. “We believe that AI may be able to help our physicians and employees and enhance our members’ experience. As an organization dedicated to inclusiveness and health equity, we ensure the results from AI tools are correct and unbiased; AI does not replace human assessment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One program in use at 21 Kaiser hospitals in Northern California is the Advance Alert Monitor, which analyzes electronic health data to notify a nursing team when a patient’s health is at risk of serious decline. The program saves about 500 lives per year, according to the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983733\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983733\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-scaled.jpg\" alt='Many people dressed in scrubs hold red signs that say \"Trust Nurses Not AI\" in the street.' width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-02-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nurses from across California rally at Kaiser Permanente on Geary Blvd in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to advocate for patient safety in the face of artificial intelligence technology. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Gutierrez Vo said nurses have flagged problems with the tool, such as producing inaccurate alarms or failing to detect all patients whose health is quickly deteriorating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s just so much buzz right now that this is the future of health care. These health care corporations are using this as a shortcut, as a way to handle patient load. And we’re saying ‘No. You cannot do that without making sure these systems are safe,’” said Gutierrez Vo, a nurse with 25 years of experience at the company’s Fremont Adult Family Medicine clinic. “Our patients are not lab rats.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized some AI-generated services before they go to market, but mostly \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/28/ai-doctors-healthcare-regulation-00124051\">without the comprehensive data\u003c/a> required for new medicines. Last fall, President Joe Biden issued an \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">executive order\u003c/a> on the safe use of AI, which includes a directive to develop policies for AI-enabled technologies in health services that promote “the welfare of patients and workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very good to have open discussions because the technology is moving at such a fast pace, and everyone is at a different level of understanding of what it can do and [what] it is,” said Dr. Ashish Atreja, Chief Information and Digital Health Officer at UC Davis Health. “Many health systems and organizations do have guardrails in place, but perhaps they haven’t been shared that widely. That’s why there’s a knowledge gap.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983727\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983727\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing sun glasses and a red shirt stands in a crowd with red signs in the background.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240422-NursesAI-19-BL-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandra Larkin listens to speakers alongside fellow nurses from across California during a rally at Kaiser Permanente on Geary Blvd in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to advocate for patient safety in the face of artificial intelligence technology. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UC Davis Health is part of a \u003ca href=\"https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/uc-davis-health-and-leading-health-systems-launch-valid-ai/2023/10\">collaboration\u003c/a> with other health systems to implement generative and other types of AI with what Atreja referred to as “intentionality” to support their workforce and improve patient care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have this mission that no patient, no clinician, no researcher, no employee gets left behind in getting advantage from the latest technologies,” Atreja said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Robert Pearl, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate Business School and a former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente), told KQED he agreed with the nurses’ concerns about the use of AI at their workplace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Generative AI is a threatening technology but also a positive one. What is the best for the patient? That has to be the number one concern,” said Pearl, author of “ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine,” which he said he co-wrote with the AI system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m optimistic about what it can do for patients,” he said. “I often tell people that generative AI is like the iPhone. It’s not going away.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983752/nurses-warn-patient-safety-at-risk-as-ai-use-spreads-in-health-care","authors":["8659"],"categories":["news_457","news_8","news_248"],"tags":["news_2114","news_28642","news_27626","news_18659","news_421","news_28963","news_30933"],"featImg":"news_11983729","label":"news"},"news_11983846":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11983846","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11983846","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"state-prisons-offset-new-inmate-wage-hikes-by-cutting-hours-for-some-workers","title":"State Prisons Offset New Inmate Wage Hikes by Cutting Hours for Some Workers","publishDate":1713909559,"format":"standard","headTitle":"State Prisons Offset New Inmate Wage Hikes by Cutting Hours for Some Workers | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>California prison officials recently boosted wages for tens of thousands of incarcerated workers. Most, however, will still make less than $1 per hour, and many may not see an increase in total earnings because their hours will be cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pay rates now generally range from $0.16 to $0.74 per hour, depending on skill levels, double the previous decades-old rate, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/regulations/wp-content/uploads/sites/171/2024/04/Inmate-Pay_Approval.pdf\">new regulations\u003c/a> that went into effect on April 16.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The increase is intended to incentivize incarcerated people to take jobs for their own rehabilitation, said the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which also eliminated all unpaid job assignments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“New wages will also help workers meet restitution payments for crime victims and save more money in preparation for release,” Tessa Outhyse, a CDCR spokesperson, said in a statement. “In addition to a paycheck, work assignments build technical and social skills, instill accountability and responsibility, and prepare incarcerated people for careers after release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 39,000 incarcerated people have job assignments in state prisons, doing everything from construction and maintenance to custodial and food services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 1,200 incarcerated firefighters, who are on a separate pay scale, will also now make anywhere from $5.80 to $10.24 a day, a significant increase over the previous daily range of $2.90 to $5.13. Cal Fire also pays an additional $1 per hour for crews battling active fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"more on California prisons\" tag=\"cdcr\"]However, an overall pay increase may not materialize for many incarcerated workers. Outhyse confirmed that as CDCR boosts wages, it also plans to reduce up to three-quarters of its full-time job offerings to half-time — although it said it is “not conducting a wholesale reduction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“CDCR is exploring the introduction of some flexibility in this area to accommodate institution budget requirements as well as the possibility of increasing inmates’ flexibility to participate in rehabilitative program assignments,” the agency wrote in response to public comment concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prisoner rights advocates \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11967728/california-prison-officials-aim-to-raise-hourly-minimum-wage-to-at-least-16-cents\">pushed for a much higher pay increase\u003c/a>, one closer to California’s minimum wage of $16 an hour, without reductions in full-time jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacob Hutt, an attorney with the Prison Law Office, said the new wages are not setting up people in custody to succeed when released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By paying people a slave wage right now, they are all but ensuring that people are going to end up in poverty once they leave custody,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, CDCR often \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/family-resources/send-money/\">deducts up to 55%\u003c/a> of an incarcerated workers’ wages for administrative costs and restitution fees for crime victims, Hutt added, further reducing their net pay and ability to purchase canteen items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even when you don’t consider the fact that so many of these workers are actually not going to receive any pay increase because they’re being forced from full-time to half-time, the minimum pay raise is just so ridiculously low,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Starting this month, pay rates will now generally range from $0.16 to $0.74 per hour, double the previous decades-old rate. But many full-time jobs will be cut to half-time.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713910120,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":15,"wordCount":503},"headData":{"title":"State Prisons Offset New Inmate Wage Hikes by Cutting Hours for Some Workers | KQED","description":"Starting this month, pay rates will now generally range from $0.16 to $0.74 per hour, double the previous decades-old rate. But many full-time jobs will be cut to half-time.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"State Prisons Offset New Inmate Wage Hikes by Cutting Hours for Some Workers","datePublished":"2024-04-23T21:59:19.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-23T22:08:40.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"WpOldSlug":"state-prisons-offset-new-inmate-wage-hikes-by-cutting-hours-for-workers","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983846/state-prisons-offset-new-inmate-wage-hikes-by-cutting-hours-for-some-workers","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California prison officials recently boosted wages for tens of thousands of incarcerated workers. Most, however, will still make less than $1 per hour, and many may not see an increase in total earnings because their hours will be cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pay rates now generally range from $0.16 to $0.74 per hour, depending on skill levels, double the previous decades-old rate, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/regulations/wp-content/uploads/sites/171/2024/04/Inmate-Pay_Approval.pdf\">new regulations\u003c/a> that went into effect on April 16.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The increase is intended to incentivize incarcerated people to take jobs for their own rehabilitation, said the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which also eliminated all unpaid job assignments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“New wages will also help workers meet restitution payments for crime victims and save more money in preparation for release,” Tessa Outhyse, a CDCR spokesperson, said in a statement. “In addition to a paycheck, work assignments build technical and social skills, instill accountability and responsibility, and prepare incarcerated people for careers after release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 39,000 incarcerated people have job assignments in state prisons, doing everything from construction and maintenance to custodial and food services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 1,200 incarcerated firefighters, who are on a separate pay scale, will also now make anywhere from $5.80 to $10.24 a day, a significant increase over the previous daily range of $2.90 to $5.13. Cal Fire also pays an additional $1 per hour for crews battling active fires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"more on California prisons ","tag":"cdcr"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>However, an overall pay increase may not materialize for many incarcerated workers. Outhyse confirmed that as CDCR boosts wages, it also plans to reduce up to three-quarters of its full-time job offerings to half-time — although it said it is “not conducting a wholesale reduction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“CDCR is exploring the introduction of some flexibility in this area to accommodate institution budget requirements as well as the possibility of increasing inmates’ flexibility to participate in rehabilitative program assignments,” the agency wrote in response to public comment concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prisoner rights advocates \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11967728/california-prison-officials-aim-to-raise-hourly-minimum-wage-to-at-least-16-cents\">pushed for a much higher pay increase\u003c/a>, one closer to California’s minimum wage of $16 an hour, without reductions in full-time jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacob Hutt, an attorney with the Prison Law Office, said the new wages are not setting up people in custody to succeed when released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By paying people a slave wage right now, they are all but ensuring that people are going to end up in poverty once they leave custody,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, CDCR often \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/family-resources/send-money/\">deducts up to 55%\u003c/a> of an incarcerated workers’ wages for administrative costs and restitution fees for crime victims, Hutt added, further reducing their net pay and ability to purchase canteen items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even when you don’t consider the fact that so many of these workers are actually not going to receive any pay increase because they’re being forced from full-time to half-time, the minimum pay raise is just so ridiculously low,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983846/state-prisons-offset-new-inmate-wage-hikes-by-cutting-hours-for-some-workers","authors":["8659"],"categories":["news_8"],"tags":["news_26658","news_616","news_1629","news_17725","news_27626"],"featImg":"news_11983401","label":"news"},"news_11983671":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11983671","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11983671","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"sf-democratic-partys-support-of-unlimited-housing-could-pressure-mayoral-candidates","title":"SF Democratic Party’s Support of Unlimited Housing Could Pressure Mayoral Candidates","publishDate":1713816005,"format":"standard","headTitle":"SF Democratic Party’s Support of Unlimited Housing Could Pressure Mayoral Candidates | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>The San Francisco Democratic Party put itself on record backing the building of unrestricted market-rate housing after a Friday night vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new policy may push candidates running for mayor and the Board of Supervisors to modify their positions on housing if they want the backing of the Democratic County Central Committee or DCCC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In most elections, the DCCC sends mailers to voters with its official stamp of approval for candidates, which can sway a segment of voters. The candidates appearing on party mailers this November will likely have pro-market rate housing views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike Chen, a member of the DCCC and co-author of its housing policy, told KQED he hopes candidates heed the party’s new direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are many candidates who are still movable, who have issue priorities that are not necessarily housing,” Chen said. “This is a chance for candidates to take feedback from the party.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Catch up fast: \u003c/strong>Most of the two dozen moderate Democrats who ran for the DCCC won in the March primary, flipping the board from its previous progressive majority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new housing policy embraces the platform of San Francisco YIMBY, an advocacy group that said building market-rate developments as quickly as possible will help bring down rental prices. Progressive Democrats said market-rate construction is akin to luxury housing that most people can’t afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor London Breed is a vocal supporter of YIMBY policies. The DCCC’s new approach to housing may benefit her when she seeks the party’s endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983682\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11983682\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-800x602.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"602\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-800x602.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-1020x768.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-1536x1157.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-2048x1542.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-1920x1446.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Democrats on the Democratic County Central Committee at their first meeting since the March primary on April 19. From left to right, Michael Lai, Cedric Akbar, Mike Chen, Lily Ho, Trevor Chandler, Matt Dorsey, Nancy Tung and Marjan Philhour. \u003ccite>(Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who loses out: \u003c/strong>Some DCCC members may now think twice before backing the mayoral candidacy of Mark Farrell, a former mayor and supervisor. Farrell rankled pro-housing Democrats last month when he said he doesn’t believe San Francisco “needs to upzone every neighborhood” in an \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2024/03/mark-farrells-common-sense/?utm_campaign=SF+Standard+Power+Play&utm_content=p-text&utm_medium=email&utm_source=SF+Standard\">interview with Joe Eskenazi\u003c/a>, Mission Local’s managing editor and columnist, on stage at Manny’s. Upzoning is the process cities use to grant taller housing to be built in an area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other mayoral candidates, like Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who talks about protecting the character of neighborhoods from the construction of tall housing, and Supervisor Ahsha Safai, are unlikely to gain the party’s backing. Safaí lacks the allies on the board to gain an endorsement. It’s unclear if Daniel Lurie, a mayoral candidate and philanthropist, has enough DCCC allies for an endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The opposing view: \u003c/strong>A few progressives remain on the party board, including Peter Gallotta, who successfully got the moderate Democrats to write clauses supporting renters into the new housing policy. “I think it’s important that we reiterate and underscore that our party is also pro-tenant,” Gallotta said. “I do think we need to make sure we’re calling out our support for the protection of rent control in San Francisco, that we support preservation of our existing rent-controlled housing stock.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What we’re watching: \u003c/strong>The meeting was the party’s first since moderates flipped the board. The moderates flexed their newfound power by pushing for several new policies. Besides the housing platform, board members voted to approve a resolution backing more police officers for public safety and new bylaws that limit the amount of public comment they’ll listen to in a meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The public safety and housing policies have no actual teeth in changing San Francisco’s operations.[aside postID=news_11983000 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/GettyImages-623874284_qut-1020x705.jpg']The moderate Democrats also voted in Nancy Tung as the new party chair. Tung is a career prosecutor in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office who ran for DA in 2019 but lost to Chesa Boudin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The party also passed a resolution backing the labor community. The policy statement angered Kim Tavaglione, the executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, a powerful group that unites labor unions across the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tavaglione said the policy lacks basic elements in the state Democratic Party platform, like endorsing specific training language for the building trades, a living wage recommendation and anti-charter school statements that public school teachers back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they don’t appreciate labor’s voice, we don’t have to play with them,” Tavaglione said. “We’re happy to walk away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tavaglione said she would recommend labor unions withhold resources from the DCCC, which would help progressive Democrats in the November election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The move could prompt mayoral and Board of Supervisors candidates to adjust their housing policies to align with the Democratic County Central Committee's stance for endorsement.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713816155,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":19,"wordCount":810},"headData":{"title":"SF Democratic Party’s Support of Unlimited Housing Could Pressure Mayoral Candidates | KQED","description":"The move could prompt mayoral and Board of Supervisors candidates to adjust their housing policies to align with the Democratic County Central Committee's stance for endorsement.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"SF Democratic Party’s Support of Unlimited Housing Could Pressure Mayoral Candidates","datePublished":"2024-04-22T20:00:05.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-22T20:02:35.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983671/sf-democratic-partys-support-of-unlimited-housing-could-pressure-mayoral-candidates","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The San Francisco Democratic Party put itself on record backing the building of unrestricted market-rate housing after a Friday night vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new policy may push candidates running for mayor and the Board of Supervisors to modify their positions on housing if they want the backing of the Democratic County Central Committee or DCCC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In most elections, the DCCC sends mailers to voters with its official stamp of approval for candidates, which can sway a segment of voters. The candidates appearing on party mailers this November will likely have pro-market rate housing views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike Chen, a member of the DCCC and co-author of its housing policy, told KQED he hopes candidates heed the party’s new direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are many candidates who are still movable, who have issue priorities that are not necessarily housing,” Chen said. “This is a chance for candidates to take feedback from the party.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Catch up fast: \u003c/strong>Most of the two dozen moderate Democrats who ran for the DCCC won in the March primary, flipping the board from its previous progressive majority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new housing policy embraces the platform of San Francisco YIMBY, an advocacy group that said building market-rate developments as quickly as possible will help bring down rental prices. Progressive Democrats said market-rate construction is akin to luxury housing that most people can’t afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor London Breed is a vocal supporter of YIMBY policies. The DCCC’s new approach to housing may benefit her when she seeks the party’s endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983682\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11983682\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-800x602.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"602\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-800x602.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-1020x768.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-1536x1157.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-2048x1542.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/1000019369-1920x1446.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Democrats on the Democratic County Central Committee at their first meeting since the March primary on April 19. From left to right, Michael Lai, Cedric Akbar, Mike Chen, Lily Ho, Trevor Chandler, Matt Dorsey, Nancy Tung and Marjan Philhour. \u003ccite>(Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Who loses out: \u003c/strong>Some DCCC members may now think twice before backing the mayoral candidacy of Mark Farrell, a former mayor and supervisor. Farrell rankled pro-housing Democrats last month when he said he doesn’t believe San Francisco “needs to upzone every neighborhood” in an \u003ca href=\"https://missionlocal.org/2024/03/mark-farrells-common-sense/?utm_campaign=SF+Standard+Power+Play&utm_content=p-text&utm_medium=email&utm_source=SF+Standard\">interview with Joe Eskenazi\u003c/a>, Mission Local’s managing editor and columnist, on stage at Manny’s. Upzoning is the process cities use to grant taller housing to be built in an area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other mayoral candidates, like Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who talks about protecting the character of neighborhoods from the construction of tall housing, and Supervisor Ahsha Safai, are unlikely to gain the party’s backing. Safaí lacks the allies on the board to gain an endorsement. It’s unclear if Daniel Lurie, a mayoral candidate and philanthropist, has enough DCCC allies for an endorsement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The opposing view: \u003c/strong>A few progressives remain on the party board, including Peter Gallotta, who successfully got the moderate Democrats to write clauses supporting renters into the new housing policy. “I think it’s important that we reiterate and underscore that our party is also pro-tenant,” Gallotta said. “I do think we need to make sure we’re calling out our support for the protection of rent control in San Francisco, that we support preservation of our existing rent-controlled housing stock.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What we’re watching: \u003c/strong>The meeting was the party’s first since moderates flipped the board. The moderates flexed their newfound power by pushing for several new policies. Besides the housing platform, board members voted to approve a resolution backing more police officers for public safety and new bylaws that limit the amount of public comment they’ll listen to in a meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The public safety and housing policies have no actual teeth in changing San Francisco’s operations.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11983000","hero":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/GettyImages-623874284_qut-1020x705.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The moderate Democrats also voted in Nancy Tung as the new party chair. Tung is a career prosecutor in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office who ran for DA in 2019 but lost to Chesa Boudin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The party also passed a resolution backing the labor community. The policy statement angered Kim Tavaglione, the executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, a powerful group that unites labor unions across the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tavaglione said the policy lacks basic elements in the state Democratic Party platform, like endorsing specific training language for the building trades, a living wage recommendation and anti-charter school statements that public school teachers back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they don’t appreciate labor’s voice, we don’t have to play with them,” Tavaglione said. “We’re happy to walk away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tavaglione said she would recommend labor unions withhold resources from the DCCC, which would help progressive Democrats in the November election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983671/sf-democratic-partys-support-of-unlimited-housing-could-pressure-mayoral-candidates","authors":["11690"],"categories":["news_6266","news_8","news_13"],"tags":["news_195","news_18538","news_20251","news_176","news_1775","news_6931","news_22439","news_17968","news_18536","news_38","news_33960"],"featImg":"news_11983678","label":"news"},"news_11983701":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11983701","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11983701","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"sweeps-kill-bay-area-homeless-advocates-weigh-in-on-pivotal-u-s-supreme-court-case","title":"‘Sweeps Kill’: Bay Area Homeless Advocates Weigh in on Pivotal US Supreme Court Case","publishDate":1713820578,"format":"standard","headTitle":"‘Sweeps Kill’: Bay Area Homeless Advocates Weigh in on Pivotal US Supreme Court Case | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>Around 100 people marched from San Francisco’s federal building to City Hall on Monday, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold lower court rulings on how cities can respond to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The action came as SCOTUS heard oral arguments in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983492/how-a-pivotal-case-on-homelessness-could-redefine-policies-in-california-and-the-nation\">City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson\u003c/a>. The decision — which is expected by the end of June — is likely to impact whether cities around the country can issue fines and jail people for camping on public property if there isn’t a viable shelter alternative available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re here to stop the illegal pushing and shoving of the homeless,” said LaMonte Ford, who is currently unhoused. “It really hurts to think that your existence is now against the law, so we are all here to assemble against that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"LaMonte Ford, an unhoused resident]‘We’re here to stop the illegal pushing and shoving of the homeless. It really hurts to think that your existence is now against the law, so we are all here to assemble against that.’[/pullquote]Ford previously lived at the Wood Street Commons, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949327/the-end-of-wood-street-inside-the-struggle-for-stability-housing-on-the-margins-of-the-bay-area\">a large encampment in West Oakland\u003c/a> that the city cleared in 2023. He said the community sustained him for years while he could not afford rent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It felt like somebody was ripping my mother away from me,” Ford said of the encampment sweep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s all we have. We have to exist in some kind of way,” he added. “Sweeps kill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The High Court is specifically reviewing a lower court’s decision, upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, that bars cities across the Western United States from criminalizing people for sleeping outside if no viable shelter options are available. Doing so, the lower court ruled, would be considered cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials from across the political map, from Gov. Gavin Newsom to conservative state political leaders, joined in asking the Supreme Court to take up the case and clarify how much authority local leaders have to clear encampments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983692\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983692\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875.jpeg\" alt=\"A woman wrapped in a head scarf and face mask speaks into a microphone.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lisa Gray-Garcia speaks to a crowd outside the Federal Building in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, in support of the rights of unhoused people. \u003ccite>(Kathryn Styer Martínez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After over two and a half hours of argument, the court appeared divided along ideological lines, but the majority of justices indicated they consider local officials to be better equipped than the courts to take on these matters — a sign they may be leaning toward giving Grants Pass and other cities broader authority to regulate homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the liberal justices were deeply skeptical of the constitutionality of the city’s policies, suggesting that it criminalized people for simply being unhoused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where do we put them? If every city, every village, every town lacks compassion and passes a law identical to this — where are they supposed to sleep? Are they supposed to kill themselves not sleeping?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked the attorney representing the city of Grants Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for the unhoused found reason to be optimistic, pointing out that conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s questions indicated that he believes jailing people can’t solve homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every single time a court has heard this question, they’ve agreed that punishing people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go is cruel and unusual,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, a spokesperson for the National Homelessness Law Center. “So, we remain hopeful that the Supreme Court will do the right thing and agree with all of the lower courts’ decisions and affirm that everybody, regardless of housing status, is protected by the Constitution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Groups like the American Psychiatric Association support that position. In a brief submitted to the court, the medical group wrote, “People with mental illness experiencing homelessness already face various barriers to accessing mental health treatment; incarceration exacerbates these barriers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, opponents of the previous courts’ rulings argue that fines and short jail stints are a reasonable response when someone violates city laws by camping in public spaces.[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"homelessness\"]“Those punishments are neither ‘cruel’ nor ‘unusual’ in any ordinary sense of those words,” attorneys for the city of Grants Pass wrote in a brief. “For centuries, fines and imprisonment have been the default methods of punishing criminal offenses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed have taken a more neutral position. They say that local governments shouldn’t criminalize people for being unhoused but also argue that the Ninth Circuit’s ruling goes too far, stymying cities’ ability to clear sidewalks, parks and other public spaces of tents and serious public health hazards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The courts have tied the hands of state & local government to confront homelessness,” Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/1782403865322901922\">said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday\u003c/a>. “The Supreme Court has an opportunity to strike a balance that allows officials to enforce reasonable limits on public camping while treating folks with compassion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, city workers must first offer shelter to unhoused people before clearing encampments. If someone is not at an encampment during a sweep, the city must “bag-and-tag” that person’s items to give them a chance to pick them up later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Coalition on Homelessness \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11960279/where-things-stand-in-san-franciscos-legal-battle-over-street-encampments\">sued San Francisco in 2023\u003c/a> for failing to adhere to those rules. That case is still pending, but any further legal action is paused until the Supreme Court rules on the Grant Pass case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We gathered a mountain of evidence,” Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said at Monday’s march. “People are still having their property destroyed and forced to move when they don’t have a place to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorney Nisha Kashyap of the Lawyers’ Committee of Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, who’s working on the case against San Francisco, said the litigation will go forward regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on Grants Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The case against the city of San Francisco is much broader than just the question before the U.S. Supreme Court today,” she said, noting that only one of the 13 claims in the suit involves the Eighth Amendment question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu took pains to differentiate the city’s approach to homelessness from that of Grants Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983690\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983690\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873.jpeg\" alt=\"A crowd of people stand in front of a large federal building.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Demonstrators gather at the Federal Building in San Francisco on Monday in support of unhoused people. \u003ccite>(Kathryn Styer Martínez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Unlike Grants Pass, San Francisco has invested billions of dollars in our compassionate approach to addressing homelessness, and our laws have reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions,” he said. “The justices asked a number of thoughtful questions today. The complexity of their questions underscore the difficult and numerous decisions our city workers have to make on the ground every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Talya Husbands-Hankin, founder of the homeless advocacy organization, Love and Justice in the Streets, called Grants Pass “the most significant case on homelessness in over 40 years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very frightening, and it’s another level of taking away rights,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates with her organization are working with about 25 unhoused people living in an encampment at Mosswood Park in Oakland, which the city plans to clear this week. She said that while the city offers shelter options, the offerings are inadequate and not a long-term solution to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The shelter that the city is currently offering is not something people can always accept. You can’t take your pets, and it’s short-term,” Husbands-Hankin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in San Francisco — and across California — the number of unhoused people continues to outpace affordable housing inventory and shelter resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, the most recent citywide data available, San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://hsh.sfgov.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PIT-Key-Findings-Briefing-Deck-web.pdf\">tallied nearly 4,400 people\u003c/a> without shelter. However, the city lacks enough affordable housing or temporary shelter options to accommodate those who need it. On Monday, 173 people were on the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://hsh.sfgov.org/services/how-to-get-services/accessing-temporary-shelter/adult-temporary-shelter/shelter-reservation-waitlist/\">online shelter reservation waitlist\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many of us feel strongly that mere shelter referrals were inadequate, but it is what the courts ruled, and now even this Eighth Amendment protection is threatened,” said Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project. “We should be talking about housing — not shelter — when it comes to addressing mass contemporary homelessness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The protest came as the High Court on Monday heard oral arguments in the City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson, a decision that could impact whether cities around the country can remove and punish people for camping on public property if viable shelter options are unavailable.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713825210,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":33,"wordCount":1467},"headData":{"title":"‘Sweeps Kill’: Bay Area Homeless Advocates Weigh in on Pivotal US Supreme Court Case | KQED","description":"The protest came as the High Court on Monday heard oral arguments in the City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson, a decision that could impact whether cities around the country can remove and punish people for camping on public property if viable shelter options are unavailable.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"‘Sweeps Kill’: Bay Area Homeless Advocates Weigh in on Pivotal US Supreme Court Case","datePublished":"2024-04-22T21:16:18.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-22T22:33:30.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983701/sweeps-kill-bay-area-homeless-advocates-weigh-in-on-pivotal-u-s-supreme-court-case","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Around 100 people marched from San Francisco’s federal building to City Hall on Monday, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold lower court rulings on how cities can respond to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The action came as SCOTUS heard oral arguments in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983492/how-a-pivotal-case-on-homelessness-could-redefine-policies-in-california-and-the-nation\">City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson\u003c/a>. The decision — which is expected by the end of June — is likely to impact whether cities around the country can issue fines and jail people for camping on public property if there isn’t a viable shelter alternative available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re here to stop the illegal pushing and shoving of the homeless,” said LaMonte Ford, who is currently unhoused. “It really hurts to think that your existence is now against the law, so we are all here to assemble against that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘We’re here to stop the illegal pushing and shoving of the homeless. It really hurts to think that your existence is now against the law, so we are all here to assemble against that.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"align":"right","size":"medium","label":"citation=\"LaMonte Ford, an unhoused resident"},"numeric":["citation=\"LaMonte","Ford,","an","unhoused","resident"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Ford previously lived at the Wood Street Commons, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949327/the-end-of-wood-street-inside-the-struggle-for-stability-housing-on-the-margins-of-the-bay-area\">a large encampment in West Oakland\u003c/a> that the city cleared in 2023. He said the community sustained him for years while he could not afford rent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It felt like somebody was ripping my mother away from me,” Ford said of the encampment sweep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s all we have. We have to exist in some kind of way,” he added. “Sweeps kill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The High Court is specifically reviewing a lower court’s decision, upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, that bars cities across the Western United States from criminalizing people for sleeping outside if no viable shelter options are available. Doing so, the lower court ruled, would be considered cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials from across the political map, from Gov. Gavin Newsom to conservative state political leaders, joined in asking the Supreme Court to take up the case and clarify how much authority local leaders have to clear encampments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983692\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983692\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875.jpeg\" alt=\"A woman wrapped in a head scarf and face mask speaks into a microphone.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7875-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lisa Gray-Garcia speaks to a crowd outside the Federal Building in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, in support of the rights of unhoused people. \u003ccite>(Kathryn Styer Martínez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After over two and a half hours of argument, the court appeared divided along ideological lines, but the majority of justices indicated they consider local officials to be better equipped than the courts to take on these matters — a sign they may be leaning toward giving Grants Pass and other cities broader authority to regulate homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the liberal justices were deeply skeptical of the constitutionality of the city’s policies, suggesting that it criminalized people for simply being unhoused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where do we put them? If every city, every village, every town lacks compassion and passes a law identical to this — where are they supposed to sleep? Are they supposed to kill themselves not sleeping?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked the attorney representing the city of Grants Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for the unhoused found reason to be optimistic, pointing out that conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s questions indicated that he believes jailing people can’t solve homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every single time a court has heard this question, they’ve agreed that punishing people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go is cruel and unusual,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, a spokesperson for the National Homelessness Law Center. “So, we remain hopeful that the Supreme Court will do the right thing and agree with all of the lower courts’ decisions and affirm that everybody, regardless of housing status, is protected by the Constitution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Groups like the American Psychiatric Association support that position. In a brief submitted to the court, the medical group wrote, “People with mental illness experiencing homelessness already face various barriers to accessing mental health treatment; incarceration exacerbates these barriers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, opponents of the previous courts’ rulings argue that fines and short jail stints are a reasonable response when someone violates city laws by camping in public spaces.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"related coverage ","tag":"homelessness"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Those punishments are neither ‘cruel’ nor ‘unusual’ in any ordinary sense of those words,” attorneys for the city of Grants Pass wrote in a brief. “For centuries, fines and imprisonment have been the default methods of punishing criminal offenses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed have taken a more neutral position. They say that local governments shouldn’t criminalize people for being unhoused but also argue that the Ninth Circuit’s ruling goes too far, stymying cities’ ability to clear sidewalks, parks and other public spaces of tents and serious public health hazards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The courts have tied the hands of state & local government to confront homelessness,” Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/1782403865322901922\">said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday\u003c/a>. “The Supreme Court has an opportunity to strike a balance that allows officials to enforce reasonable limits on public camping while treating folks with compassion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, city workers must first offer shelter to unhoused people before clearing encampments. If someone is not at an encampment during a sweep, the city must “bag-and-tag” that person’s items to give them a chance to pick them up later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Coalition on Homelessness \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11960279/where-things-stand-in-san-franciscos-legal-battle-over-street-encampments\">sued San Francisco in 2023\u003c/a> for failing to adhere to those rules. That case is still pending, but any further legal action is paused until the Supreme Court rules on the Grant Pass case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We gathered a mountain of evidence,” Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said at Monday’s march. “People are still having their property destroyed and forced to move when they don’t have a place to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorney Nisha Kashyap of the Lawyers’ Committee of Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, who’s working on the case against San Francisco, said the litigation will go forward regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on Grants Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The case against the city of San Francisco is much broader than just the question before the U.S. Supreme Court today,” she said, noting that only one of the 13 claims in the suit involves the Eighth Amendment question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu took pains to differentiate the city’s approach to homelessness from that of Grants Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11983690\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11983690\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873.jpeg\" alt=\"A crowd of people stand in front of a large federal building.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/IMG_7873-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Demonstrators gather at the Federal Building in San Francisco on Monday in support of unhoused people. \u003ccite>(Kathryn Styer Martínez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Unlike Grants Pass, San Francisco has invested billions of dollars in our compassionate approach to addressing homelessness, and our laws have reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions,” he said. “The justices asked a number of thoughtful questions today. The complexity of their questions underscore the difficult and numerous decisions our city workers have to make on the ground every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Talya Husbands-Hankin, founder of the homeless advocacy organization, Love and Justice in the Streets, called Grants Pass “the most significant case on homelessness in over 40 years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very frightening, and it’s another level of taking away rights,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates with her organization are working with about 25 unhoused people living in an encampment at Mosswood Park in Oakland, which the city plans to clear this week. She said that while the city offers shelter options, the offerings are inadequate and not a long-term solution to homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The shelter that the city is currently offering is not something people can always accept. You can’t take your pets, and it’s short-term,” Husbands-Hankin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in San Francisco — and across California — the number of unhoused people continues to outpace affordable housing inventory and shelter resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, the most recent citywide data available, San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://hsh.sfgov.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PIT-Key-Findings-Briefing-Deck-web.pdf\">tallied nearly 4,400 people\u003c/a> without shelter. However, the city lacks enough affordable housing or temporary shelter options to accommodate those who need it. On Monday, 173 people were on the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://hsh.sfgov.org/services/how-to-get-services/accessing-temporary-shelter/adult-temporary-shelter/shelter-reservation-waitlist/\">online shelter reservation waitlist\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many of us feel strongly that mere shelter referrals were inadequate, but it is what the courts ruled, and now even this Eighth Amendment protection is threatened,” said Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project. “We should be talking about housing — not shelter — when it comes to addressing mass contemporary homelessness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983701/sweeps-kill-bay-area-homeless-advocates-weigh-in-on-pivotal-u-s-supreme-court-case","authors":["11840","11276"],"categories":["news_8"],"tags":["news_22903","news_4020","news_1775","news_201"],"featImg":"news_11983691","label":"news"},"forum_2010101905468":{"type":"posts","id":"forum_2010101905468","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"forum","id":"2010101905468","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"supreme-court-hears-oral-arguments-in-major-homelessness-case","title":"Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Major Homelessness Case","publishDate":1713822744,"format":"audio","headTitle":"Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Major Homelessness Case | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"forum"},"content":"\u003cp>The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in its biggest case on homelessness in decades. At issue is whether penalizing unhoused people for camping on public land violates the “cruel and unusual punishment” clause of the 8th Amendment — even if they refuse offers of shelter. The case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, could have massive implications for how California cities address homelessness. Nearly half of all unhoused Americans live in California, according to a report last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs. We’ll discuss the arguments and how the Court might rule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, could have massive implications for how California cities address homelessness. We’ll discuss the arguments and how the Court might rule.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713899130,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":3,"wordCount":102},"headData":{"title":"Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Major Homelessness Case | KQED","description":"The case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, could have massive implications for how California cities address homelessness. We’ll discuss the arguments and how the Court might rule.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Major Homelessness Case","datePublished":"2024-04-22T21:52:24.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-23T19:05:30.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chrt.fm/track/G6C7C3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC7629469114.mp3?updated=1713899385","airdate":1713891600,"forumGuests":[{"name":"Marisa Kendall","bio":"homelessness reporter, CalMatters"},{"name":"Meghan Ryan","bio":"professor of law, Southern Methodist University (SMU)"}],"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/forum/2010101905468/supreme-court-hears-oral-arguments-in-major-homelessness-case","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in its biggest case on homelessness in decades. At issue is whether penalizing unhoused people for camping on public land violates the “cruel and unusual punishment” clause of the 8th Amendment — even if they refuse offers of shelter. The case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, could have massive implications for how California cities address homelessness. Nearly half of all unhoused Americans live in California, according to a report last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs. We’ll discuss the arguments and how the Court might rule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/forum/2010101905468/supreme-court-hears-oral-arguments-in-major-homelessness-case","authors":["243"],"categories":["forum_165"],"featImg":"forum_2010101905469","label":"forum"},"news_11983481":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11983481","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11983481","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"bay-area-indians-prepare-for-indias-2024-general-election-heres-what-to-know","title":"Bay Area Indians Brace for India’s Pivotal 2024 Election: Here’s What to Know","publishDate":1713783602,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Bay Area Indians Brace for India’s Pivotal 2024 Election: Here’s What to Know | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>India — the largest democracy in the world — kicked off its election season on Friday, April 19. Voters will head to the polls during a period of 44 days, with results announced on June 4.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hopes to further cement its control of India’s Parliament, while the opposition seeks to interrupt the 10 consecutive years of BJP government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters in India’s election comprise over 10% of the world’s population. And for Indians and Indian Americans in the Bay Area, talk of this election may have been looming in the background for quite some time. Perhaps the WhatsApp family group chats are getting busier with videos of angry TV pundits. Or maybe your auntie and uncle are trying to reel you into policy debates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how exactly does India’s election work, and what’s at stake? Keep reading to get up to speed on why this election is so important for India — and the unique role the diaspora plays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#A\">How does the election work?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#B\">What’s at stake? What issues are on the table?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#C\">How does the election impact Indian and Indian American communities in the U.S.?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#D\">I’m an Indian citizen living in the U.S. Can I vote outside of India?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"A\">\u003c/a>How does India’s 2024 election work?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Unlike the United States, which for most of its recent history only gave voters one day to cast their ballots, India carries out its elections over several weeks to make voting more accessible to its large population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s general election period will last six weeks, starting on April 19, and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-election-2024-explainer-41d7aa3131dc0c7e0df1ea4be6b6a4c7\">results will be announced on June 4\u003c/a>. The voters will elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for a five-year term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The polls will be held in seven phases, and ballots will be cast at more than a million polling stations. Each phase will last a single day, with several constituencies across multiple states voting that day. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-election-modi-bjp-democracy-8998fe6aba5fa26debc0f82c4e2ccf69\">The staggered polling\u003c/a> allows the government to deploy tens of thousands of troops to prevent violence and transport election officials and voting machines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>India has a first-past-the-post multiparty electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins. A party or coalition must breach the mark of 272 seats to secure a majority.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who is running in India’s 2024 election?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and his main challenger, Rahul Gandhi of the Indian National Congress, represent Parliament’s two largest factions. Several other important regional parties are part of an opposition bloc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-election-opposition-modi-kejriwal-396a85e3fc4e4ed43018436b690b0fe0\">Opposition parties,\u003c/a> which have been previously fractured, have \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-opposition-parties-election-unity-a365ab9e6af2b7b6c19aea304693f186\">united under a front called INDIA,\u003c/a> or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, in the hope of denying Modi a third straight election victory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alliance has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-opposition-parties-election-unity-a365ab9e6af2b7b6c19aea304693f186\">fielded a single primary candidate\u003c/a> in most constituencies. But it has been roiled by ideological differences and personality clashes and has not yet decided on its candidate for prime minister.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/india/modi-could-sweep-indian-election-congress-may-hit-record-low-says-survey-2024-04-03/\">Most surveys suggest Modi is likely to win comfortably\u003c/a>, especially after he opened \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-modi-temple-hindu-muslims-ayodhya-election-12102e8dd13a677b15d8760b4252aa7a\">a Hindu temple in northern Ayodhya city\u003c/a> in January, which fulfilled his party’s \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ayodhya-ram-mandir-temple-hindu-nationalists-modi-hinduism-e6765dd13edb57a1644e961471939c30\">long-held Hindu nationalist pledge\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another victory would cement Modi as one of the country’s most popular and important leaders. It would follow a thumping win in 2019 when the BJP clinched an absolute majority by sweeping 303 parliamentary seats. The Congress party managed only 52 seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"B\">\u003c/a>What’s at stake for India?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s general election pits \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/narendra-modi\">Prime Minister Modi,\u003c/a> an avowed Hindu nationalist, against a broad INDIA coalition struggling to play catch-up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 73-year-old Modi first swept to power in 2014 on promises of economic development, presenting himself as an outsider cracking down on corruption. Since then, he has fused religion with politics in a formula that has attracted wide support from the country’s majority Hindu population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>India under Modi is a rising global power, but his rule has also been marked by \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/04/19/modia-india-elections-unemployment/\">rising unemployment\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/india-muslims-marginalized-population-bjp-modi\">attacks by Hindu nationalists against minorities\u003c/a>, particularly Muslims, and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/03/india-media-freedom-under-threat\">shrinking space for dissent and free media\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, many Indian residents feel the same concern. “It is a vote about the future of a concept called India itself,” said Shan Sankaran, an entrepreneur in Sunnyvale. Sankaran also shared his concern that India could become an autocracy with Modi at the helm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of the \u003cem>Kashmir Times\u003c/em> who is \u003ca href=\"https://jsk.stanford.edu/fellows/class-of-2023/anuradha-bhasin/\">currently a fellow at Stanford\u003c/a>, echoed some of his sentiments. “It’s a moment when India is at a crossroads.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These elections are very crucial. They will decide where India is headed,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What are some of the big issues in this India election?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For decades, India has clung doggedly to its democratic convictions, largely due to free elections, an independent judiciary, a thriving media, strong opposition and peaceful transition of power. Some of these credentials have slowly eroded under Modi’s 10-year rule, with the polls seen as a test of the country’s democratic values.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"forum_2010101905411,news_11979550,news_11981407\"]Many watchdogs have now categorized India as a “hybrid regime” that is neither a full democracy nor a full autocracy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The polls will also test the limits of Modi, a populist leader whose rise has seen increasing attacks against religious minorities, mostly Muslims. Critics accuse him of using a Hindu-first platform, endangering the country’s secular roots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under Modi, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-newsclick-press-freedom-media-raids-6c262667beca3badefb97f1904980138\">the media\u003c/a> — once viewed as vibrant and largely independent — have become more pliant and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-press-freedom-newsclick-arrest-raid-3faa0830e9f3bcd4e75f1b7df404f432\">critical voices muzzled.\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/kashmir-india-autonomy-supreme-court-status-d7e9b2c0cb0222e18de08d75c6b0ebc5\">Courts have largely bent to Modi’s will\u003c/a> and given favorable verdicts in crucial cases. Centralization of executive power has strained India’s federalism. And federal agencies have bogged down \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-new-delhi-arvind-kejriwal-jail-da600f0a1f98e7e35472d60854a81db9\">top opposition leaders\u003c/a> in corruption cases, which they deny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another key issue is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-narendra-modi-independence-day-celebrations-economy-912cf92919f59fd338298d62ce158ba8\">India’s large economy,\u003c/a> which is among the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-shortterm-budget-elections-5046223a2c87da2125ea18c3abf33ec9\">fastest-growing in the world.\u003c/a> It has helped India emerge as a global power and a counterweight to China. But even as India’s growth soars by some measures, the Modi government has struggled to generate enough jobs for young people and instead has relied on welfare programs like free food and housing to woo voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.N.’s latest Asia-Pacific Human Development Report lists India among the top countries with high income and wealth inequality.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"C\">\u003c/a>How the country’s election might impact Indian communities in California\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, Indian immigrants make up \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/10/28/how-big-is-bay-area-boom-in-india-born-residents-together-theyd-rank-as-the-regions-fourth-largest-city/?clearUserState=true\">one out of every five residents in many South and East Bay neighborhoods\u003c/a>. In the region’s two biggest counties — Santa Clara and Alameda — those born in India are now the largest immigrant group. Not to mention, the Bay Area has become home to several Indians and Indian Americans in high places, like Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen, and, of course, Vice President Kamala Harris, who was born in Oakland. And the history of the Bay Area would be incomplete without the work of Indian and Indian American organizers — as evidenced by Berkeley’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleysouthasian.org/\">South Asian Radical Walking History Tour\u003c/a> and the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11837958/berkeley-renames-downtown-street-kala-bagai-way-after-south-asian-immigrant-activist\">Kala Bagai Way\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11913378 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/image12-1020x679.jpg']Indians abroad wield a lot of economic power in India. Last year, Indians in the U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/invest/india-tops-global-remittance-charts-at-125-billion-in-2023/articleshow/106087493.cms\">sent $125 billion back to India in remittances (payments to family)\u003c/a> — roughly equivalent to 3.3% of the Indian GDP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bhasin, the \u003cem>Kashmir Times\u003c/em> editor at Stanford, said she has seen that divisive narratives in India have echoes in the Bay Area. “The Indian diaspora is as divided as Indians are in India,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Their idea of India depends on the kind of sources of information they’re looking at,” she explained. If they are looking at mainstream media, their reading is different from those relying on non-mainstream digital media outlets, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deepthi Rao, who has been in the Bay Area for the last eight years, said she is a Modi fan. “I am a queer person of color,” she said. “The [BJP] have been, unrightfully, in my opinion, demonized as anti-LGBTQ.” She explained that in 2018, under the BJP government, Article 377 — a law that criminalized consensual homosexual acts — was abolished. In 2013, however, when the Indian National Congress party was in power, Article 377 was reinstated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She would like to go back to India to vote, she said — but isn’t sure if she’ll be able to make it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"D\">\u003c/a>I’m an Indian national in the US. Can I still vote in the elections?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Non-resident Indians in the U.S. for employment or education and are not citizens of any other country are \u003ca href=\"https://www.cgichicago.gov.in/page/nri-voter-enrollment-process/\">eligible to register as voters with the address in their Indian passport\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, they would be required to vote in person at their polling location in India — no mail-in, remote voting from outside that location is possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article includes reporting from KQED’s Lakshmi Sarah. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"A look at what India’s general elections mean for Indians and Indian Americans in the Bay Area.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713730242,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":37,"wordCount":1582},"headData":{"title":"Bay Area Indians Brace for India’s Pivotal 2024 Election: Here’s What to Know | KQED","description":"A look at what India’s general elections mean for Indians and Indian Americans in the Bay Area.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Bay Area Indians Brace for India’s Pivotal 2024 Election: Here’s What to Know","datePublished":"2024-04-22T11:00:02.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-21T20:10:42.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"Sheikh Saaliq\u003cbr>Associated Press","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983481/bay-area-indians-prepare-for-indias-2024-general-election-heres-what-to-know","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>India — the largest democracy in the world — kicked off its election season on Friday, April 19. Voters will head to the polls during a period of 44 days, with results announced on June 4.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hopes to further cement its control of India’s Parliament, while the opposition seeks to interrupt the 10 consecutive years of BJP government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters in India’s election comprise over 10% of the world’s population. And for Indians and Indian Americans in the Bay Area, talk of this election may have been looming in the background for quite some time. Perhaps the WhatsApp family group chats are getting busier with videos of angry TV pundits. Or maybe your auntie and uncle are trying to reel you into policy debates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how exactly does India’s election work, and what’s at stake? Keep reading to get up to speed on why this election is so important for India — and the unique role the diaspora plays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#A\">How does the election work?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#B\">What’s at stake? What issues are on the table?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#C\">How does the election impact Indian and Indian American communities in the U.S.?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#D\">I’m an Indian citizen living in the U.S. Can I vote outside of India?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"A\">\u003c/a>How does India’s 2024 election work?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Unlike the United States, which for most of its recent history only gave voters one day to cast their ballots, India carries out its elections over several weeks to make voting more accessible to its large population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s general election period will last six weeks, starting on April 19, and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-election-2024-explainer-41d7aa3131dc0c7e0df1ea4be6b6a4c7\">results will be announced on June 4\u003c/a>. The voters will elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for a five-year term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The polls will be held in seven phases, and ballots will be cast at more than a million polling stations. Each phase will last a single day, with several constituencies across multiple states voting that day. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-election-modi-bjp-democracy-8998fe6aba5fa26debc0f82c4e2ccf69\">The staggered polling\u003c/a> allows the government to deploy tens of thousands of troops to prevent violence and transport election officials and voting machines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>India has a first-past-the-post multiparty electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins. A party or coalition must breach the mark of 272 seats to secure a majority.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Who is running in India’s 2024 election?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and his main challenger, Rahul Gandhi of the Indian National Congress, represent Parliament’s two largest factions. Several other important regional parties are part of an opposition bloc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-election-opposition-modi-kejriwal-396a85e3fc4e4ed43018436b690b0fe0\">Opposition parties,\u003c/a> which have been previously fractured, have \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-opposition-parties-election-unity-a365ab9e6af2b7b6c19aea304693f186\">united under a front called INDIA,\u003c/a> or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, in the hope of denying Modi a third straight election victory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alliance has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-opposition-parties-election-unity-a365ab9e6af2b7b6c19aea304693f186\">fielded a single primary candidate\u003c/a> in most constituencies. But it has been roiled by ideological differences and personality clashes and has not yet decided on its candidate for prime minister.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/india/modi-could-sweep-indian-election-congress-may-hit-record-low-says-survey-2024-04-03/\">Most surveys suggest Modi is likely to win comfortably\u003c/a>, especially after he opened \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-modi-temple-hindu-muslims-ayodhya-election-12102e8dd13a677b15d8760b4252aa7a\">a Hindu temple in northern Ayodhya city\u003c/a> in January, which fulfilled his party’s \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ayodhya-ram-mandir-temple-hindu-nationalists-modi-hinduism-e6765dd13edb57a1644e961471939c30\">long-held Hindu nationalist pledge\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another victory would cement Modi as one of the country’s most popular and important leaders. It would follow a thumping win in 2019 when the BJP clinched an absolute majority by sweeping 303 parliamentary seats. The Congress party managed only 52 seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"B\">\u003c/a>What’s at stake for India?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s general election pits \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/narendra-modi\">Prime Minister Modi,\u003c/a> an avowed Hindu nationalist, against a broad INDIA coalition struggling to play catch-up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 73-year-old Modi first swept to power in 2014 on promises of economic development, presenting himself as an outsider cracking down on corruption. Since then, he has fused religion with politics in a formula that has attracted wide support from the country’s majority Hindu population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>India under Modi is a rising global power, but his rule has also been marked by \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/04/19/modia-india-elections-unemployment/\">rising unemployment\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/india-muslims-marginalized-population-bjp-modi\">attacks by Hindu nationalists against minorities\u003c/a>, particularly Muslims, and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/03/india-media-freedom-under-threat\">shrinking space for dissent and free media\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, many Indian residents feel the same concern. “It is a vote about the future of a concept called India itself,” said Shan Sankaran, an entrepreneur in Sunnyvale. Sankaran also shared his concern that India could become an autocracy with Modi at the helm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of the \u003cem>Kashmir Times\u003c/em> who is \u003ca href=\"https://jsk.stanford.edu/fellows/class-of-2023/anuradha-bhasin/\">currently a fellow at Stanford\u003c/a>, echoed some of his sentiments. “It’s a moment when India is at a crossroads.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These elections are very crucial. They will decide where India is headed,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What are some of the big issues in this India election?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For decades, India has clung doggedly to its democratic convictions, largely due to free elections, an independent judiciary, a thriving media, strong opposition and peaceful transition of power. Some of these credentials have slowly eroded under Modi’s 10-year rule, with the polls seen as a test of the country’s democratic values.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Stories ","postid":"forum_2010101905411,news_11979550,news_11981407"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Many watchdogs have now categorized India as a “hybrid regime” that is neither a full democracy nor a full autocracy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The polls will also test the limits of Modi, a populist leader whose rise has seen increasing attacks against religious minorities, mostly Muslims. Critics accuse him of using a Hindu-first platform, endangering the country’s secular roots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under Modi, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-newsclick-press-freedom-media-raids-6c262667beca3badefb97f1904980138\">the media\u003c/a> — once viewed as vibrant and largely independent — have become more pliant and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-press-freedom-newsclick-arrest-raid-3faa0830e9f3bcd4e75f1b7df404f432\">critical voices muzzled.\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/kashmir-india-autonomy-supreme-court-status-d7e9b2c0cb0222e18de08d75c6b0ebc5\">Courts have largely bent to Modi’s will\u003c/a> and given favorable verdicts in crucial cases. Centralization of executive power has strained India’s federalism. And federal agencies have bogged down \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-new-delhi-arvind-kejriwal-jail-da600f0a1f98e7e35472d60854a81db9\">top opposition leaders\u003c/a> in corruption cases, which they deny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another key issue is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-narendra-modi-independence-day-celebrations-economy-912cf92919f59fd338298d62ce158ba8\">India’s large economy,\u003c/a> which is among the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/india-shortterm-budget-elections-5046223a2c87da2125ea18c3abf33ec9\">fastest-growing in the world.\u003c/a> It has helped India emerge as a global power and a counterweight to China. But even as India’s growth soars by some measures, the Modi government has struggled to generate enough jobs for young people and instead has relied on welfare programs like free food and housing to woo voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.N.’s latest Asia-Pacific Human Development Report lists India among the top countries with high income and wealth inequality.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"C\">\u003c/a>How the country’s election might impact Indian communities in California\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, Indian immigrants make up \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/10/28/how-big-is-bay-area-boom-in-india-born-residents-together-theyd-rank-as-the-regions-fourth-largest-city/?clearUserState=true\">one out of every five residents in many South and East Bay neighborhoods\u003c/a>. In the region’s two biggest counties — Santa Clara and Alameda — those born in India are now the largest immigrant group. Not to mention, the Bay Area has become home to several Indians and Indian Americans in high places, like Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen, and, of course, Vice President Kamala Harris, who was born in Oakland. And the history of the Bay Area would be incomplete without the work of Indian and Indian American organizers — as evidenced by Berkeley’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleysouthasian.org/\">South Asian Radical Walking History Tour\u003c/a> and the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11837958/berkeley-renames-downtown-street-kala-bagai-way-after-south-asian-immigrant-activist\">Kala Bagai Way\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11913378","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/image12-1020x679.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Indians abroad wield a lot of economic power in India. Last year, Indians in the U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/invest/india-tops-global-remittance-charts-at-125-billion-in-2023/articleshow/106087493.cms\">sent $125 billion back to India in remittances (payments to family)\u003c/a> — roughly equivalent to 3.3% of the Indian GDP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bhasin, the \u003cem>Kashmir Times\u003c/em> editor at Stanford, said she has seen that divisive narratives in India have echoes in the Bay Area. “The Indian diaspora is as divided as Indians are in India,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Their idea of India depends on the kind of sources of information they’re looking at,” she explained. If they are looking at mainstream media, their reading is different from those relying on non-mainstream digital media outlets, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deepthi Rao, who has been in the Bay Area for the last eight years, said she is a Modi fan. “I am a queer person of color,” she said. “The [BJP] have been, unrightfully, in my opinion, demonized as anti-LGBTQ.” She explained that in 2018, under the BJP government, Article 377 — a law that criminalized consensual homosexual acts — was abolished. In 2013, however, when the Indian National Congress party was in power, Article 377 was reinstated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She would like to go back to India to vote, she said — but isn’t sure if she’ll be able to make it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"D\">\u003c/a>I’m an Indian national in the US. Can I still vote in the elections?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Non-resident Indians in the U.S. for employment or education and are not citizens of any other country are \u003ca href=\"https://www.cgichicago.gov.in/page/nri-voter-enrollment-process/\">eligible to register as voters with the address in their Indian passport\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, they would be required to vote in person at their polling location in India — no mail-in, remote voting from outside that location is possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article includes reporting from KQED’s Lakshmi Sarah. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983481/bay-area-indians-prepare-for-indias-2024-general-election-heres-what-to-know","authors":["byline_news_11983481"],"categories":["news_8"],"tags":["news_27626","news_6284","news_33978"],"featImg":"news_11983549","label":"news"},"news_11983654":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11983654","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11983654","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"californias-future-educators-divided-on-how-to-teach-reading","title":"California’s Future Educators Divided on How to Teach Reading","publishDate":1713812452,"format":"standard","headTitle":"California’s Future Educators Divided on How to Teach Reading | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":33681,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>Supporters of bolstering how teacher candidates in California are taught to teach reading cheered in 2021 when the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB488\">agreed and mandated change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They remained enthusiastic a year later when \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/californias-plan-to-change-literacy-instruction-advances/692569\">the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing adopted new standards \u003c/a>emphasizing explicit instruction of fundamental skills, including phonics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, advocates are charging that the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and its oversight body, the Committee on Accreditation, have failed their first test to stand behind those new standards. Instead, after a one-hour hearing Friday, the commission confirmed full accreditation to Mills College at Northeastern, which critics argue is ignoring critical new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This approval will set a bad example for other programs facing a fall deadline to overhaul their literacy instruction and begin teaching the revised standards, critics said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Clearly, the commission is unwilling to uphold the state’s own curriculum framework and its guidance for new teacher prep programs, as outlined” in state law, said Yolie Flores, president and CEO of Families in Schools, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that advocates for parents. “Given that, what chance is there that literacy instruction will ever change, and what chance is there that our children will be successful in learning to read?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[ad fullwidth] \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The answer may become clearer as other programs come up for review. However, the credential commission’s unanimous vote to reaffirm Mills College at Northeastern’s accreditation found support not only among the peer reviewers for the Committee on Accreditation but also from leaders of other teacher prep programs who submitted comments and testimony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing and the commission’s decision revealed ongoing disagreements over how California’s new literacy standards should be interpreted and implemented and raised the question of whether the Legislature’s intent in ordering a different approach to literacy instruction will be followed with fidelity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The credentialing commission’s decision was in response to a complaint filed by Families in Schools and the nonprofits Decoding Dyslexia and California Reading Coalition. The organizations hoped that the commission would investigate the accreditation approval for Mills College at Northeastern or order that the program get technical help to bring it into compliance with the new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Commissioners, it is up to you to make sure the letter and intent of the law is followed. If you don’t do it, it won’t be done, and these terrible results won’t change,” testified Todd Collins of the California Reading Coalition, referring to the low reading proficiency rate of California third graders: 43% overall and less than a third for Black and Latino children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Credentialing commissioners instead took a third option — referring the complaint to the Committee on Accreditation without comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioners made clear they trusted the accreditation committee’s judgment and peer-review process, which relies on an evaluation by professors of teacher prep programs. Credentialing Commission Chair Marquita Grenot-Scheyer and others said they found no merit to the complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have an established, coherent and effective process for program review and accreditation in the state of California,” said Grenot-Scheyer, a professor emeritus in the College of Education at California State University, Long Beach.[aside postID=news_11945189 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/CMTeachers01-1020x680.jpg']Commissioner Ira Lit, a professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, agreed, adding that he sees “no indication that attention to those frameworks, guidelines and standards of review were amiss in this particular case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature’s mandate in \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB488\">Senate Bill 488\u003c/a> directed the commission to incorporate evidence-based methods of teaching foundational reading skills in its programs for multiple-subject credentials and reading specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The literacy skills that teacher candidates would learn to teach include not only phonics, which correlates sounds with letters in the alphabet but also vocabulary, oral language, fluency, reading comprehension and writing. The commission appointed two dozen reading experts to recommend research-based literacy practices aligned to the state’s existing curriculum frameworks that all teacher preparation programs would adopt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collins, Flores and others praised the final package of teacher performance expectations, known as Standard 7 in the program requirements. They said it would meet the needs of all students, including English learners and students with dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So did two members of the work group of experts who were skeptical of Mills College at Northeastern’s literacy instruction: Maryanne Wolf, a cognitive neuroscientist who directs the UCLA Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice, and Sue Sears, a professor of special education at CSU Northridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They called Standard 7 “a rigorous and comprehensive set of requirements which reflect current reading research and practice.” After examining Mills College at Northeastern’s course syllabi, reading lists, and materials for literacy instruction, they said the program fell far short of the requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In testimony and written comments, they said the school paid “lip service” to foundational skills and failed to document how prospective teachers would teach phonics explicitly and effectively. Among other flaws, the program didn’t mention the importance of screening for dyslexia and how to provide additional help for struggling and multilingual students, Wolf and Sears wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills at Northeastern was formed from the merger of Mills College, a 170-year-old former women’s college in Oakland that closed in 2022, with Northeastern University in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Structured versus balanced literacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In expressing confidence in a thorough accreditation review process while not commenting on the substance of the complaint, the credentialing commission dodged the underlying issue. The state had taken a stand in the debate over “structured literacy” versus “balanced literacy.” Standard 7 incorporates structured literacy. Taught under the banner of “science of reading,” it stresses evidence-proven reading strategies using, in the early grades, direct and sequential instruction of phonics and decodable texts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Balanced literacy, an outgrowth of the once-popular “whole language” approach, downplays phonics, which it views as just one of several strategies in teaching reading. Other methods include “three-cueing,” the technique in which readers use pictures in a book, the first letter of a word and other contextual clues to determine words. It’s grounded in the belief that reading more books tied to the skill level of a child’s fluency and comprehension will make them better, more engaged readers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills College at Northeastern stresses balanced literacy and three-cueing. Its reading assignments include multiple chapters by Fountas and Pinnell, the publisher most identified with balanced literacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Approving credential programs like Mills “to provide contradictory instructional practices, some of which are supported by research and others that have been debunked by cognitive scientists years ago, will only serve to create confusion for teaching credential candidates,” Decoding Dyslexia CA co-directors Lori DePole and Megan Potente wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matthew Burns, a University of Florida reading researcher who said he had studied the effectiveness of Fountas and Pinnell instructional programs and intervention strategies, was blunt. “The three-cueing system should have no place in public education and should not be part of any preservice training,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>In defense of Mills College\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Other leaders of teacher preparation programs and advocacy groups in California urged the credentialing commission to uphold the approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stating that a comprehensive literacy curriculum includes background knowledge, multilingualism motivation and diverse text and assessments — not just phonics, Nancy Walker, a professor of literacy education at the University of La Verne, said, “By limiting our focus to the claims made by the popular press and media, we have underrepresented other pieces of reading pedagogy. The Mills College program represents the broad range of literacy as represented in the California literacy frameworks and standards.”[aside postID=news_11914203 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/MillsCommencement-1020x608.jpg']Karen Escalante, an assistant professor of teacher education and foundations at CSU San Bernardino and president of the California Council on Teacher Education, warned that “efforts to pick and choose select elements of teacher preparation syllabi undermine the teaching profession and aim to deprofessionalize a professional workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mimi Miller, a professor and literacy teacher educator at CSU Chico, said, “The complaint against Mills privileges one line of research over another. It has inaccurately cited research to confirm a set of beliefs about reading instruction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The science of reading is not settled and will never be settled,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Teachers Association and Californians Together, which advocates for English and expanding multilingual education, also urged commissioners to uphold the accreditation approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I call on the commission to not make any decisions that would restrict reading instruction in California,” said Manuel Buenrostro, director of policy at Californians Together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wolf used her two-minute comment to refute what opponents said regarding the state of research. “Of course, there is the unsettled, but there is far more of the settled neuroscience of reading,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills College at Northeastern “fails to meet the standards that you asked us to bring to every teacher so that every teacher could be prepared to teach every child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am worrisomely seeing in California that there is becoming more loyalty to past methods that have been shown to be ineffective for our most struggling readers. We can never put loyalty to past methods over loyalty to our children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>SB 488 under attack\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several commissioners indicated they, too, support a “balanced” approach to reading instruction tied to research. Others said the key to improved instruction is understanding socioeconomic and cultural differences among children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Culturally responsive teaching practices are what’s going to work to teach those children how to read,” said Commissioner Christopher Davis, pointing to his own experience as a Black child in Los Angeles who did not read an entire book until he was a high school junior. Davis, a middle school language arts teacher in the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose, said, “I want to encourage the public to stop using Black and brown children to prop up their misguided views of what’s happening in schools because I am one of those people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 488 requires all teacher candidates, starting in the spring of 2025, to take a performance assessment demonstrating they can effectively teach the new literacy instruction standards. The law also requires the Committee on Accreditation to visit all teacher prep programs in 2024–25 to verify they employ the new literacy strategies.[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='education']But a bill that would remove those provisions before they take effect is moving forward in the Legislature.\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1263\"> Senate Bill 1263\u003c/a>, sponsored by the California Teachers Association, would eliminate the California \u003ca href=\"https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/CalTPA_TestPage.html\">Teaching Performance Assessment\u003c/a>, known as the CalTPA. And that would include the performance assessment in teaching reading now being developed. The bill, authored by Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), would also drop the on-site visits to verify that teacher prep programs are adhering to the literacy standards. The periodic general accreditation and re-accreditation process, like the one that Mills College passed, would be the sole accountability check that California’s new teachers know how to teach structured literacy and the science of reading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another bill, which would have extended the same training in structured literacy for new teachers to all elementary school teachers, also would have strengthened the credentialing commission’s literacy expertise. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2222\">Assembly Bill 2222\u003c/a> would have required that at least one member of the Committee on Accreditation be an expert in the science of reading. And it would have funded several literacy experts for the commission staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same adversaries that fought over Mills College at Northeastern battled over AB 2222. Decoding Dyslexia CA, Families in Schools and California Reading Coalition sponsored the bill. Opposition by CTA, Californians Together and the California Association of Bilingual Educators led Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to pull the bill without a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collins of the California Reading Coalition said he wasn’t surprised by the credentialing commission’s decision. The view of those involved in teacher preparation programs, which is not unique to California, is: “‘Let us professionals do our job. We are the ones who can arbitrate whether we’re doing a good job or not. No one else can do that,'” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To the extent that the credentialing commission defers to the process and defers to the people in the higher ed institutions, then change is going to come very, very slowly, if at all,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Critics question accreditation of a program they say won't adhere to new standards on structured literacy.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713815072,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":42,"wordCount":2152},"headData":{"title":"California’s Future Educators Divided on How to Teach Reading | KQED","description":"Critics question accreditation of a program they say won't adhere to new standards on structured literacy.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"California’s Future Educators Divided on How to Teach Reading","datePublished":"2024-04-22T19:00:52.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-22T19:44:32.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"John Fensterwald, EdSource","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11983654/californias-future-educators-divided-on-how-to-teach-reading","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Supporters of bolstering how teacher candidates in California are taught to teach reading cheered in 2021 when the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB488\">agreed and mandated change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They remained enthusiastic a year later when \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/californias-plan-to-change-literacy-instruction-advances/692569\">the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing adopted new standards \u003c/a>emphasizing explicit instruction of fundamental skills, including phonics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, advocates are charging that the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and its oversight body, the Committee on Accreditation, have failed their first test to stand behind those new standards. Instead, after a one-hour hearing Friday, the commission confirmed full accreditation to Mills College at Northeastern, which critics argue is ignoring critical new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This approval will set a bad example for other programs facing a fall deadline to overhaul their literacy instruction and begin teaching the revised standards, critics said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Clearly, the commission is unwilling to uphold the state’s own curriculum framework and its guidance for new teacher prep programs, as outlined” in state law, said Yolie Flores, president and CEO of Families in Schools, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that advocates for parents. “Given that, what chance is there that literacy instruction will ever change, and what chance is there that our children will be successful in learning to read?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The answer may become clearer as other programs come up for review. However, the credential commission’s unanimous vote to reaffirm Mills College at Northeastern’s accreditation found support not only among the peer reviewers for the Committee on Accreditation but also from leaders of other teacher prep programs who submitted comments and testimony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing and the commission’s decision revealed ongoing disagreements over how California’s new literacy standards should be interpreted and implemented and raised the question of whether the Legislature’s intent in ordering a different approach to literacy instruction will be followed with fidelity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The credentialing commission’s decision was in response to a complaint filed by Families in Schools and the nonprofits Decoding Dyslexia and California Reading Coalition. The organizations hoped that the commission would investigate the accreditation approval for Mills College at Northeastern or order that the program get technical help to bring it into compliance with the new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Commissioners, it is up to you to make sure the letter and intent of the law is followed. If you don’t do it, it won’t be done, and these terrible results won’t change,” testified Todd Collins of the California Reading Coalition, referring to the low reading proficiency rate of California third graders: 43% overall and less than a third for Black and Latino children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Credentialing commissioners instead took a third option — referring the complaint to the Committee on Accreditation without comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioners made clear they trusted the accreditation committee’s judgment and peer-review process, which relies on an evaluation by professors of teacher prep programs. Credentialing Commission Chair Marquita Grenot-Scheyer and others said they found no merit to the complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have an established, coherent and effective process for program review and accreditation in the state of California,” said Grenot-Scheyer, a professor emeritus in the College of Education at California State University, Long Beach.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11945189","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/CMTeachers01-1020x680.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Commissioner Ira Lit, a professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, agreed, adding that he sees “no indication that attention to those frameworks, guidelines and standards of review were amiss in this particular case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature’s mandate in \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB488\">Senate Bill 488\u003c/a> directed the commission to incorporate evidence-based methods of teaching foundational reading skills in its programs for multiple-subject credentials and reading specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The literacy skills that teacher candidates would learn to teach include not only phonics, which correlates sounds with letters in the alphabet but also vocabulary, oral language, fluency, reading comprehension and writing. The commission appointed two dozen reading experts to recommend research-based literacy practices aligned to the state’s existing curriculum frameworks that all teacher preparation programs would adopt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collins, Flores and others praised the final package of teacher performance expectations, known as Standard 7 in the program requirements. They said it would meet the needs of all students, including English learners and students with dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So did two members of the work group of experts who were skeptical of Mills College at Northeastern’s literacy instruction: Maryanne Wolf, a cognitive neuroscientist who directs the UCLA Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice, and Sue Sears, a professor of special education at CSU Northridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They called Standard 7 “a rigorous and comprehensive set of requirements which reflect current reading research and practice.” After examining Mills College at Northeastern’s course syllabi, reading lists, and materials for literacy instruction, they said the program fell far short of the requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In testimony and written comments, they said the school paid “lip service” to foundational skills and failed to document how prospective teachers would teach phonics explicitly and effectively. Among other flaws, the program didn’t mention the importance of screening for dyslexia and how to provide additional help for struggling and multilingual students, Wolf and Sears wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills at Northeastern was formed from the merger of Mills College, a 170-year-old former women’s college in Oakland that closed in 2022, with Northeastern University in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Structured versus balanced literacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In expressing confidence in a thorough accreditation review process while not commenting on the substance of the complaint, the credentialing commission dodged the underlying issue. The state had taken a stand in the debate over “structured literacy” versus “balanced literacy.” Standard 7 incorporates structured literacy. Taught under the banner of “science of reading,” it stresses evidence-proven reading strategies using, in the early grades, direct and sequential instruction of phonics and decodable texts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Balanced literacy, an outgrowth of the once-popular “whole language” approach, downplays phonics, which it views as just one of several strategies in teaching reading. Other methods include “three-cueing,” the technique in which readers use pictures in a book, the first letter of a word and other contextual clues to determine words. It’s grounded in the belief that reading more books tied to the skill level of a child’s fluency and comprehension will make them better, more engaged readers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills College at Northeastern stresses balanced literacy and three-cueing. Its reading assignments include multiple chapters by Fountas and Pinnell, the publisher most identified with balanced literacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Approving credential programs like Mills “to provide contradictory instructional practices, some of which are supported by research and others that have been debunked by cognitive scientists years ago, will only serve to create confusion for teaching credential candidates,” Decoding Dyslexia CA co-directors Lori DePole and Megan Potente wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matthew Burns, a University of Florida reading researcher who said he had studied the effectiveness of Fountas and Pinnell instructional programs and intervention strategies, was blunt. “The three-cueing system should have no place in public education and should not be part of any preservice training,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>In defense of Mills College\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Other leaders of teacher preparation programs and advocacy groups in California urged the credentialing commission to uphold the approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stating that a comprehensive literacy curriculum includes background knowledge, multilingualism motivation and diverse text and assessments — not just phonics, Nancy Walker, a professor of literacy education at the University of La Verne, said, “By limiting our focus to the claims made by the popular press and media, we have underrepresented other pieces of reading pedagogy. The Mills College program represents the broad range of literacy as represented in the California literacy frameworks and standards.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11914203","hero":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/MillsCommencement-1020x608.jpg","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Karen Escalante, an assistant professor of teacher education and foundations at CSU San Bernardino and president of the California Council on Teacher Education, warned that “efforts to pick and choose select elements of teacher preparation syllabi undermine the teaching profession and aim to deprofessionalize a professional workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mimi Miller, a professor and literacy teacher educator at CSU Chico, said, “The complaint against Mills privileges one line of research over another. It has inaccurately cited research to confirm a set of beliefs about reading instruction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The science of reading is not settled and will never be settled,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Teachers Association and Californians Together, which advocates for English and expanding multilingual education, also urged commissioners to uphold the accreditation approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I call on the commission to not make any decisions that would restrict reading instruction in California,” said Manuel Buenrostro, director of policy at Californians Together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wolf used her two-minute comment to refute what opponents said regarding the state of research. “Of course, there is the unsettled, but there is far more of the settled neuroscience of reading,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills College at Northeastern “fails to meet the standards that you asked us to bring to every teacher so that every teacher could be prepared to teach every child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am worrisomely seeing in California that there is becoming more loyalty to past methods that have been shown to be ineffective for our most struggling readers. We can never put loyalty to past methods over loyalty to our children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>SB 488 under attack\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several commissioners indicated they, too, support a “balanced” approach to reading instruction tied to research. Others said the key to improved instruction is understanding socioeconomic and cultural differences among children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Culturally responsive teaching practices are what’s going to work to teach those children how to read,” said Commissioner Christopher Davis, pointing to his own experience as a Black child in Los Angeles who did not read an entire book until he was a high school junior. Davis, a middle school language arts teacher in the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose, said, “I want to encourage the public to stop using Black and brown children to prop up their misguided views of what’s happening in schools because I am one of those people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 488 requires all teacher candidates, starting in the spring of 2025, to take a performance assessment demonstrating they can effectively teach the new literacy instruction standards. The law also requires the Committee on Accreditation to visit all teacher prep programs in 2024–25 to verify they employ the new literacy strategies.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Coverage ","tag":"education"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But a bill that would remove those provisions before they take effect is moving forward in the Legislature.\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1263\"> Senate Bill 1263\u003c/a>, sponsored by the California Teachers Association, would eliminate the California \u003ca href=\"https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/CalTPA_TestPage.html\">Teaching Performance Assessment\u003c/a>, known as the CalTPA. And that would include the performance assessment in teaching reading now being developed. The bill, authored by Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), would also drop the on-site visits to verify that teacher prep programs are adhering to the literacy standards. The periodic general accreditation and re-accreditation process, like the one that Mills College passed, would be the sole accountability check that California’s new teachers know how to teach structured literacy and the science of reading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another bill, which would have extended the same training in structured literacy for new teachers to all elementary school teachers, also would have strengthened the credentialing commission’s literacy expertise. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2222\">Assembly Bill 2222\u003c/a> would have required that at least one member of the Committee on Accreditation be an expert in the science of reading. And it would have funded several literacy experts for the commission staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same adversaries that fought over Mills College at Northeastern battled over AB 2222. Decoding Dyslexia CA, Families in Schools and California Reading Coalition sponsored the bill. Opposition by CTA, Californians Together and the California Association of Bilingual Educators led Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to pull the bill without a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collins of the California Reading Coalition said he wasn’t surprised by the credentialing commission’s decision. The view of those involved in teacher preparation programs, which is not unique to California, is: “‘Let us professionals do our job. We are the ones who can arbitrate whether we’re doing a good job or not. No one else can do that,'” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To the extent that the credentialing commission defers to the process and defers to the people in the higher ed institutions, then change is going to come very, very slowly, if at all,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11983654/californias-future-educators-divided-on-how-to-teach-reading","authors":["byline_news_11983654"],"categories":["news_18540","news_8"],"tags":["news_18538","news_32580","news_20013","news_27626","news_18500"],"affiliates":["news_33681"],"featImg":"news_11983657","label":"news_33681"},"news_11129842":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11129842","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11129842","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"in-secretive-marijuana-industry-whispers-of-abuse-and-trafficking","title":"In Secretive Marijuana Industry, Whispers of Abuse and Trafficking","publishDate":1476486715,"format":"image","headTitle":"Election 2016 | The California Report | KQED News","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was part of a special edition of KQED's The California Report Magazine, produced in collaboration with Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"http://revealnews.org/\">\u003cem>revealnews.org\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and subscribe to the Reveal podcast, produced with PRX, at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"http://revealnews.org/podcast\">\u003cem>revealnews.org/podcast\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>he trees towered above them, limbs etched in black against the night sky. He steered his pickup down a narrow path of mud and rocks and parked in front of a trailer. He tried to kiss her. She froze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are you doing?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have to get up early,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He began groping her body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t you have a wife?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woods seemed to crawl with creatures; the ground was slick with rain. As wilderness pulsed around them, she ran through the possibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If she fled, would she find her way out? If she fought back, would he hurt her?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Would anyone hear her if she screamed?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Listen to the special edition of The California Report Magazine, produced in collaboration with Reveal from The Center for Investigation Reporting:\u003c/em>[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/287778617\" params=\"auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"400\" iframe=\"true\" /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Emerald Triangle, trees are ever present. They peek over small towns and dip into valleys, sheathing this cluster of remote Northern California counties in silence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the ancient forests here have provided cover for the nation’s largest marijuana-growing industry, shielding pot farmers from convention, outsiders and law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the forests also hide secrets, among them young women with stories of sexual abuse and exploitation. Some have spoken out; a handful have pressed charges. Most have confided only in private.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students from the nearest college, Humboldt State University, return from a summer of trimming marijuana buds with tales of being forced to give their boss a blow job to get paid. Other “trimmigrants,” who typically work during the June-to-November harvest, recount offers of higher wages to trim topless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During one harvest season, two growers began having sex with their teenage trimmer. When they feared she would run away, they locked her inside an oversized toolbox with breathing holes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contact with law enforcement is rare and, female trimmigrants say, rarely satisfying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130062\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Emily Rothman of Florida throws her pack into a truck that will take her to a friend’s pot farm in Garberville. She said all the women she knows have been warned of things to watch out for when coming to the area for work.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Rothman of Florida throws her pack into a truck that will take her to a friend’s pot farm in Garberville. She said all the women she knows have been warned of things to watch out for when coming to the area for work. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Verifying their stories is as difficult as finding your way through the forest at night, down twisty dirt roads, to one of the backwoods marijuana farms. During months of reporting in the region, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting unearthed dozens of accounts of sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking. Victims’ advocates say the problem is far larger and, with every harvest, continues to grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Women believe they are getting hired for trimming work, and then they’re drugged and raped,” said Maryann Hayes Mariani, a coordinator for the North Coast Rape Crisis Team. “Everybody looks at (the region) like it’s the Land of Oz. I’m just so tired of pretending like it’s not happening here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet law enforcement repeatedly has failed to investigate abuse and sexual violence in the industry. Instead, officers mostly focus on what they view as the root cause of the problem: the drug trade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the rural counties of Northern California, marijuana is still a largely underground industry, worth billions. Last year, legal California sales alone were valued at $2.7 billion, according to \u003ca href=\"https://frontierfinancials.com/product/california/?ref=AMR\">The ArcView Group\u003c/a>, a marijuana market research firm. Sales are projected to balloon to $6.4 billion by 2020 if marijuana is legalized for recreational use. It’s big business, drawing busloads of job seekers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130068\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130068\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Ads for trimmers are tacked to a bulletin board in Garberville, Calif. Female trimmers often pair up, even form trimming collectives, counting on safety in numbers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ads for trimmers are tacked to a bulletin board in Garberville, Calif. Female trimmers often pair up, even form trimming collectives, counting on safety in numbers. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The number of trimmigrants who go missing alone is overwhelming for law enforcement, fueling an epidemic of the lost. In 2015, Humboldt County reported 352 missing people, more per capita than any other county in \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/missing/stats\">the state\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When an artist from San Francisco disappeared in the Humboldt County town of Garberville last harvest season, her mother and roommate filed a missing persons report. Months later, she resurfaced to tell her family she had been held against her will on a marijuana farm, drugged and sexually abused. She never formally reported her abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at the time of her disappearance, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.humboldtgov.org/187/Sheriffs-Office\">Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office\u003c/a>had labeled her a “voluntary missing adult.” They flagged the case as a low priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many people come to Humboldt each year to work on the marijuana farms,” the deputy who took the report told her roommate \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3035995-Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-3-47-56-PM.html\">in an email\u003c/a>. “So far she is falling into the same category as many others have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to women and girls who come of their own volition to trim, others are brought in specifically to provide sex services. Come harvest season, escorts flood these rural areas, drawn to the large population of male growers and laborers who spend months at a time alone on isolated mountain farms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ron Prose, an investigator for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ci.eureka.ca.gov/depts/police/\">Eureka Police Departmen\u003c/a>t, said sex traffickers know law enforcement agencies have little interest in cracking down on them. None of the county agencies surveyed by Reveal have investigators assigned to human trafficking. Prose himself is semi-retired; he investigates trafficking cases when he has time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130072\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130072\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Some growers prefer to keep trimmers in the dark about where they are working, blindfolding workers before driving to remote plots deep in the mountains.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some growers prefer to keep trimmers in the dark about where they are working, blindfolding workers before driving to remote plots deep in the mountains. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For women, the dangers are due in part to the gender dynamics in the industry. Growing is a male-dominated field, and many growers prefer to hire female trimmers. Several told Reveal that they believe women are more dexterous, making them more efficient workers. Others are looking for company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of these younger guys don’t have regular relationships because they’re out in the hills growing weed, but they still want a girl,” Prose said. “It sounds kind of crude, but they seek female companionship.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, many marijuana farms are responsible operations. Most workers describe good experiences, including excellent pay, food and shelter. Many also welcome the unusual working conditions of an industry long at odds with mainstream culture and the law. Drug use on the job, for instance, is common.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November, California voters will decide whether to fully \u003ca href=\"http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2016/general/en/pdf/complete-vig.pdf\">legalize recreational marijuana\u003c/a>. But such use remains illegal under federal and most state laws, and the culture of silence is so embedded in the state’s industry – the nation’s top black market supplier – it seems unlikely that legalization alone will dramatically alter the landscape for women toiling deep in the Emerald Triangle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of wilderness here, and dirt roads and acres of forest,” said Amy Benitez, a victims’ advocate in Humboldt County. “There’s a lot of nooks and crannies you can hide in. You add this criminal element to it, where there’s money, and there’s just more ways that you can abuse power and control.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>hat power imbalance is what ensnared a 22-year-old environmentalist and musician who arrived in one of the mountain towns in the middle of the 2014 harvest season looking for trimming work. In Petrolia, Terri – not her real name – found a world apart from her hometown in the Los Angeles Basin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Petrolia sits beneath the King Range mountains at the edge of Humboldt County, hidden behind a curtain of redwoods and Douglas fir trees. With a population of about 400, it has one general store, one bar, no cellphone service and no police. It’s about two hours down crumbling cliffside roads to the nearest highway. Most locals live in the surrounding mountains, overlooking the forested valley and black sand beaches of the last undeveloped stretch of California known as the Lost Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130076\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130076\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"The town of Petrolia sits beneath the King Range mountains at the edge of Humboldt County. With a population of about 400, it has one general store, one bar, no cellphone service and no police.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The town of Petrolia sits beneath the King Range mountains at the edge of Humboldt County. With a population of about 400, it has one general store, one bar, no cellphone service and no police. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I like to think of Petrolia as this little town hanging off the edge of the world,” said Jenoa Briar-Bonpane, a former resident who became Terri’s therapist. “At night, you’ve never seen so many stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly everyone in Petrolia knows each other. Most are involved in marijuana growing to some degree. But like other small towns dotting the Emerald Triangle, in the past decade, more and more people have moved in. Greenhouses have sprung up, enabling industrial-scale marijuana growing. Larger farms have drawn more workers from outside the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first, Terri did not have a job. An acquaintance introduced her to Cedar McCulloch-Clow and Emily Herman, a married couple with two children, a horde of chickens and goats, and a bicycle-strewn junkyard. Terri set up a tent in the couple’s yard, plunked down her violin and camping gear and began looking for work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130079\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130079\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Cedar McCulloch-Clow, a goat farmer and volunteer firefighter, owns the property where Terri pitched her tent while doing trim work in Petrolia.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cedar McCulloch-Clow, a goat farmer and volunteer firefighter, owns the property where Terri pitched her tent while doing trim work in Petrolia. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She also set about working her way into the community. She went to the weekly farmers market at the community center and ran and biked in the annual Rye and Tide, a 7 1/2-mile race that begins with a swig of whiskey outside the town bar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri found a couple of trimming jobs, including for Sam Epperson and his partner, Rachel Adair. Their operation was far smaller than the region’s newer marijuana fields – known as grows – and had a vegetable garden and turkey coop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri and three other trimmers sat in a row of swivel office chairs in a wood-paneled trimming shack. They wore aprons to keep from tracking loose leaves into the house and carefully tallied the weight of their work – they would be paid $200 a pound – with pencil and paper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130081\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130081\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Terri sat in an office chair in this cramped shack, trimming marijuana buds. She and three other trimmers were paid $200 for every pound. They wore aprons and tracked their work with paper and pencil.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Terri sat in an office chair in this cramped shack, trimming marijuana buds. She and three other trimmers were paid $200 for every pound. They wore aprons and tracked their work with paper and pencil. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Epperson, quiet and bespectacled with a mop of graying curls, prepared fresh food and drinks for the workers. Every day, he offered them an organic chocolate bar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One night, on the concrete patio of the town bar – \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/yellowrosepetrolia/\">the Yellow Rose\u003c/a> – Terri met a grower named Kailan Meserve. He was twice her age, tan and muscular, with a swagger and salt-and-pepper hair. Meserve mentioned he needed trimmers and bought her a beer. A friend of Terri’s, Katie Finnegan, went inside to buy another drink. When Finnegan returned, Terri had disappeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130082\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130082\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Marijuana trimmer Terri met local grower Kailan Meserve one night at the Yellow Rose bar in Petrolia, Calif., in 2014.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marijuana trimmer Terri met local grower Kailan Meserve one night at the Yellow Rose bar in Petrolia, Calif., in 2014. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Inside, the bar is a bright, airy space with pristine off-white walls and a polished beige floor – a contrast with its often grungy clientele. One side of the bar is lined with light metal cafe tables, the other with pool tables and arcade games. The darkest part of the bar is to the left of the dartboard, a long dim hallway to the single-stall women’s restroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 45 minutes after Finnegan lost track of Terri, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036002-Yellow-Rose-excerpt.html\">court records show\u003c/a> she found her unconscious in that bathroom, her pants around her ankles. Terri appeared to have fallen and hit the sink on her way down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri remembered almost nothing about the night. She was concerned something had happened with Meserve. But back on the grow, Epperson and Adair put her at ease: Meserve was \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036003-Humboldt-County-Supervisorial-District-1-PDF.html\">a captain\u003c/a> of the volunteer fire department, the son of a \u003ca href=\"http://www.northcoastjournal.com/091803/cover0918.html\">prominent\u003c/a> local environmental activist and politician. Meserve, they said, was married with toddler twins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s a good guy,” Epperson recalled telling her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple still had work for Terri, but on their small-scale grow, the harvest wouldn’t last long. They encouraged her to take up Meserve on his offer of a trimming job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was advice Epperson now says he deeply regrets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">C\u003c/span>onservative ranchers and loggers dominated the small population of the Emerald Triangle when hippies began arriving en masse in the late 1960s. They were a diverse bunch, from tree-sitting activists to disillusioned Vietnam veterans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kailan Meserve’s father came to Humboldt County as part of the “back to the land” movement. His first home was a teepee on the Mattole River. Later, he built a house in Petrolia, where he, his wife and children lived on wind and solar power, grew produce and raised their own goats, cows and chickens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first, marijuana was a recreational drug, grown mostly for personal use. It didn’t stay that way for long. Growers realized they could better support themselves and their families by selling pot on the black market. The climate was ideal, the woods and mountains isolated enough to conceal the illicit crop. The American-grown marijuana industry was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130085\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130085\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Sunshine Johnston tends to cannabis plants at her farm in Redcrest, Calif., in the Emerald Triangle.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sunshine Johnston tends to cannabis plants at her farm in Redcrest, Calif., in the Emerald Triangle. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>From the outset, the children of these growers had more difficulties than their parents. The Summer of Love was over. Across the community, alcohol and drug abuse was rampant. So was law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The threat of raids constantly loomed over the Meserve household, threatening to pull the family apart. According to Meserve’s sister, Amy, their parents began using cocaine and alcohol and exploded into constant fights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just got really crazy,” she recalled. “Kailan pretty much raised us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When federal \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/10/us/military-takes-part-in-drug-sweep-and-reaps-criticism-and-a-lawsuit.html?pagewanted=all\">Operation Green Sweep\u003c/a> touched down in Petrolia in 1990, soldiers flew helicopters overhead and officers confronted families in their homes with M16 rifles. Children learned to lie about the reality of their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I still have PTSD,” said Sam Epperson, who grew up on a marijuana farm in eastern Humboldt County. “I can hear choppers flying from miles away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With law enforcement crackdowns came higher black market prices and greater risks. To protect their crops from theft, many farmers began to carry guns and booby-trap their properties. Residents dealt with crime themselves, avoiding law enforcement whenever possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1996, California became the first state in the country to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/MMP/Pages/CompassionateUseact.aspx\">legalize medical marijuana\u003c/a>. But the law failed to limit the amount of marijuana that could be grown, and law enforcement had no way to determine which plants were cultivated for medical purposes or for profit. Crime and black market growing in the Emerald Triangle soared, including by growers with connections to organized crime, vastly eclipsing local law enforcement’s efforts to stop it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lt. Wayne Hanson of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office put it simply: “We lost the drug war many years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The turmoil prompted some of the children to leave. Kailan Meserve was among the many who stayed. He became a stonemason, specializing in fireplaces, and grew pot on the side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “green rush” hit Petrolia in 2010. With California voters \u003ca href=\"http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/19_11_2010.pdf\">considering full legalization\u003c/a>, new growers poured into town hoping to get rich. The hippie haven was about to go mainstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law did not pass, but according to friends, Meserve decided that if anyone was going to make money peddling pot, it was going to be him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He viewed himself as having that hometown advantage,” Cedar McCulloch-Clow said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Locals noticed the change. At a party a few years ago, therapist Jenoa Briar-Bonpane recalls looking over the edge of a mountain ridge and spotting two new grow operations below. “Where did those come from?” she wondered. Someone said they belonged to Meserve, and he became the talk of the party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a sense of, ‘Wow, he’s really blowing things up,’ ” Briar-Bonpane said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a big employer in town, and a local, Meserve enjoyed a trust not afforded to outsiders, including a freedom from consequences, according to friends. He’d always had a brash demeanor and a reputation for hitting on women – even after he married in 2001. Over time, those who knew him said he seemed to sink deeper into drugs and alcohol. He was convicted three times for driving under the influence, according to court records, and got into a car crash that \u003ca href=\"http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20080921/two-injured-in-petrolia-crash\">seriously injured\u003c/a> him and his wife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He “got a little big for his britches,” Amy Meserve said, “and lost his filter completely.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of it seemed to slow down Meserve. His business expanded, and the trimmigrants who showed up in Petrolia looking for work were thankful for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>erri saw Kailan Meserve again at a pingpong tournament. He was one of the few entrusted with a key to the community center and had set up the tables.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meserve offered to buy Terri drinks several times, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036005-Meserve-Warrant.html\">according to investigators\u003c/a> – and each time, she declined. Around 10 p.m., he asked if she had to time to talk, she recalled, “to clear things up.” He offered to give her a ride home. It was rainy, and without sidewalks and streetlights, a walk home in Petrolia could be treacherous. She agreed. She figured she might also ask him about a job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130089\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"One night after a pingpong tournament at the Mattole Valley Community Center in Petrolia, Calif., 22-year-old trimmer Terri got a ride home from local grower Kailan Meserve. But home isn’t where he took her.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One night after a pingpong tournament at the Mattole Valley Community Center in Petrolia, Calif., 22-year-old trimmer Terri got a ride home from local grower Kailan Meserve. But home isn’t where he took her. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Terri was staying about 2 miles from the community center. But Meserve went the opposite direction, turning right toward a dark mass of trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where are we going?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just want to show you where my property is,” she remembers him saying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri started to get a “weird feeling,” according to court records. She told him she had to get up early. He ignored her and continued down the road, turning right again at a metal gate and entering a narrow dirt path into a thicket of towering eucalyptus. Finally, they came to a trailer and stopped. He tried to kiss her. She froze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130092\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130092\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"This is the entrance to the isolated property in Petrolia where local grower Kailan Meserve took Terri after a pingpong tournament.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is the entrance to the isolated property in Petrolia where local grower Kailan Meserve took Terri after a pingpong tournament. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“What are you doing?” she asked. “Don’t you have a wife?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her mind spun through the possibilities. Could she find her way back if she ran? Would he chase her? Hurt her? Would anyone hear her if she screamed?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was happening so fast and she could hardly see. Everything outside the beam of the headlights was flooded in black.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri declined to be interviewed for this story, but she encouraged friends and community members to open up and gave permission for her therapist, Briar-Bonpane, to speak as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Taking her to a place that was dark, forested, unknown to her,” Briar-Bonpane said, “it’s the most terrifying situation for a woman who’s with a scary man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meserve asked her to go inside. Terri climbed out of the truck and walked into the trailer. She remembers a small kitchen and a bedroom with a bare mattress. Over the next few hours, according to records, Meserve repeatedly penetrated her and forced her to perform oral sex until she gagged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He held down her arms and at one point throttled her neck. When she began gasping for air, he told her she was “weak and couldn’t take it.” She didn’t scream. The more violent he was, she’d later tell the investigators, the more excited he seemed to become.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m going to make you my bitch,” she recalls him saying, according to court records. He threatened to kill her, freeze her body and throw her to the animals if he ever found out she had slept with anyone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">M\u003c/span>any trimmigrants begin their journey about two hours southeast of Petrolia, in a small strip of a town at the hub of California’s outdoor growing economy. Garberville is surrounded on all sides by mountains of towering redwoods and lined with the kinds of businesses sustained by disposable income, including a \u003ca href=\"http://www.humboldt-hunnies-eminence-day-spa.com/\">spa\u003c/a> and a motorcycle \u003ca href=\"http://www.dazeysmotorsports.com/\">dealership\u003c/a>. Next door, in Redway, there’s even a \u003ca href=\"http://www.thegroomroompetsalon.com/\">pet salon\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Come harvest season, trimmigrants arrive from all over the country and world – college students and artists, working professionals and tourists, homeless hippies and other wanderers. Without connections, they crowd the sidewalks as though on the floor of an auction house, jockeying for jobs with homemade signs. Others camp along the river or in the woods until they find work or try to meet potential employers by frequenting local bars or volunteering at one of the area’s many marijuana-funded nonprofits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130093\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130093\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Carsten (L) and girlfriend Maya (R), both of Germany, and Beaver (back) of London head out after a free lunch at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, Calif. They were looking for trimming jobs to fund their travels but hadn’t gotten any work yet.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-1180x785.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-960x639.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carsten (L) and girlfriend Maya (R), both of Germany, and Beaver (back) of London head out after a free lunch at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, Calif. They were looking for trimming jobs to fund their travels but hadn’t gotten any work yet. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With marijuana fetching black market prices, they expect wages far higher than typical migrant farmworkers – as much as $300 a day, depending on how fast they work. A successful season can fund months of travel, and the experience itself can be an adventure, harkening back to the drug-infused journeys of Grateful Dead fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of cocaine, a lot of Ecstasy, a lot of meth, a lot of heroin,” said Terri’s former employer Rachel Adair. “It’s like a big party.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But trimmigrants also stumble into a treacherous landscape, both on and off the job. Many locals despise their presence, the trash, the carousing on sidewalks – and the negative impact on tourism. Members of a Garberville group called Locals on Patrol take photographs, check identification and tell people to move on. Anti-trimmigrant bumper stickers have proliferated. “No Work Here, Keep Moving,” they read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trimmigrants also serve at the mercy of their bosses, who are themselves vulnerable to the risks of operating in the black market – ranging from robberies to law enforcement stings. As a result, some growers prefer to keep trimmers in the dark about where they are working. Workers and advocates say growers sometimes blindfold trimmers before driving to plots deep in the mountains, locations so remote that they often lack cell service and public transportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When conflicts arise, trimmigrants may find themselves fired without pay. Even those who complete the job might never get paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130094\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130094\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CraigslistTrimmers1-800x1422.jpg\" alt=\"In Craigslist ads, aspiring female trimmers sometimes include photos of themselves in bikinis or low-cut tops, exploiting the demand for female workers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1422\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CraigslistTrimmers1.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CraigslistTrimmers1-400x711.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Craigslist ads, aspiring female trimmers sometimes include photos of themselves in bikinis or low-cut tops, exploiting the demand for female workers. \u003ccite>(Shoshana Walter/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At 38 years old, Amy Jarose is among the most experienced trimmigrants. One time, she was working on a farm in the mountains when, she said, the grower began to pressure her for blow jobs and sex. She immediately left on foot, without pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You hitchhike,” Jarose said. “You pack up your bags and hit the road and hope to God a really good person will pick you up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growers often target women for trimming jobs; male trimmers told Reveal they repeatedly were passed up or let go to make room for female workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some women exploit the demand. On \u003ca href=\"https://humboldt.craigslist.org/search/fgs\">Craigslist\u003c/a> during the last harvest season, aspiring trimmers posted photos of themselves in bikinis or low-cut tops, accompanied by winking emoticons. One advertisement, offering “Oriental female trimmers,” included the phone number of a sensual massage parlor in Los Angeles. On a community bulletin board in downtown Garberville, a pink lace garter belt adorned one ad, while another read, “We love to cook … and much more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deanna Hirschi once worked as a trimmer but said she soon realized she could earn more by offering sex for pay. She met growers at motels in Garberville or sometimes hours into the mountains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The guys on the hills pay $500 an hour,” she said, three or four times the amount she might get in a city. “They’re stuck up on a hill and they come down from the hill for one day, and they’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars in their pocket.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The demand for female companionship has contributed to sex trafficking in these rural areas from all over the country and world, including from Mexico and Eastern Europe, according to social service providers and victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One local trafficking survivor, who goes by the name Elle Snow, started a nonprofit organization to spread awareness in Humboldt County called\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/itsgameover101/\">Game Over\u003c/a>. To measure the demand, she posted fake escort advertisements on the classified ad website \u003ca href=\"http://humboldt.backpage.com/FemaleEscorts/classifieds/Disclaimer?category=517483\">Backpage\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130096\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130096\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-800x443.jpg\" alt=\"A Backpage ad offers escort services in Humboldt County. To measure demand for such services, local trafficking survivor Elle Snow, who now runs a nonprofit, posted a fake Backpage ad. Within two months, she said, she had accumulated calls and text messages from 437 phone numbers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-800x443.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-400x221.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-1180x653.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-960x532.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-672x372.jpg 672w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-1038x576.jpg 1038w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Backpage ad offers escort services in Humboldt County. To measure demand for such services, local trafficking survivor Elle Snow, who now runs a nonprofit, posted a fake Backpage ad. Within two months, she said, she had accumulated calls and text messages from 437 phone numbers. \u003ccite>(Shoshana Walter/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Within two months, Snow said, she had accumulated calls and text messages from 437 phone numbers. Many came from southern Humboldt – where Garberville and Petrolia are located – an indication to Snow that many of the potential clients were involved in the marijuana industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Traffickers call Humboldt County not just green for the weed, but green for the bitches,” she said, referring to the money traffickers can make selling women and sex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many trimmers welcome the attention, but others do not. Women pair up, even form trimming collectives, counting on safety in numbers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130097\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130097\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CListOrientalTrimmers-800x1223.jpg\" alt=\"A Craigslist ad offers “Oriental female trimmers” in Humboldt County.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1223\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CListOrientalTrimmers.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CListOrientalTrimmers-400x612.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Craigslist ad offers “Oriental female trimmers” in Humboldt County. \u003ccite>(Shoshana Walter/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Paige Radcliff and Emma Less came last season for trimming work, hoping to make enough to fund their own future harvest. During nearly 14-hour days, the two listened to Israeli folk music and bent over plastic tubs in their laps, rotating the buds with the tips of their fingers as they clipped off the stems and curly bits of leaf. “Give it a little haircut,” Radcliff said again and again, until they had piled up 6 pounds of smooth round nuggets and their fingers were coated in potent, sticky brown resin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If a girl comes here on her own, I wouldn’t recommend it,” Less said. Prior to finding this job, they encountered growers who hit on them – and they simply walked away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Radcliff agreed. “Unless you can super defend yourself, or you just give off a super-intimidating vibe where dudes are scared of you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Like a truck driver.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or a pirate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Exactly, just come across as, like, super peg leg.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Think about it,” Less said, over the steady snip of her scissors. “None of this is monitored. No one knows you’re here, not here. It’s easy for people to go missing. It’s easy for people to take advantage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Monday, Nov. 10, 2014\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>erri showed up for work in a daze the morning after she was assaulted in the forest. Bruises covered her chest and the back of her head. As she picked up her clippers, her boss remembers, she began to cry. She told Rachel Adair that “something inappropriate” had happened with Kailan Meserve and that she was scared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adair – an emergency room nurse and midwife – sent Terri to Jenoa Briar-Bonpane, a therapist and friend. Terri told the therapist the rest of the story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a predator,” Briar-Bonpane recalls thinking. She had treated child sex abuse and rape victims for years, but she was especially struck by how calculating Meserve sounded. “He must be stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A week later, some of Terri’s former employers called for a meeting, inviting town elders, the local doctor and friends. On a crisp November morning, about a dozen people joined Terri in the home near where she had pitched her tent. They gathered in a somber circle around a heavy oak dining table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cedar McCulloch-Clow, 38, with perpetual dirt under his fingernails and a baseball cap on his head, recalls feeling conflicted about the meeting. He had become friends with Terri during her many nights camping on their property. But he also had known Meserve since he was 15.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The room was tense and quiet, except for the sounds of children playing down the hall. Adair remembers wanting to ensure, first and foremost, that Terri was safe. Dr. Dick Scheinman was adamant that they call the police. Most others wanted to find an alternate solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130098\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130098\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A week after Terri’s rape, community members gathered around this table in Cedar McCulloch-Clow’s home, trying to decide what should be done about her assault.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A week after Terri’s rape, community members gathered around this table in Cedar McCulloch-Clow’s home, trying to decide what should be done about her assault. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Greg Smith, whose family has long grown marijuana, was among the town elders there. “There’s a lot of people who grow pot, and they have a resistance to calling the law,” he said later. “It’s kind of the Wild West in some ways.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ideas came in quick succession and were rejected just as quickly. Bring Meserve before a community tribunal. Send a large contingent of men to his doorstep. Gather Petrolia’s population of elderly women and have them chase after him with their shoes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith decided to pay Meserve a visit at home. He urged him to admit he had a problem, show remorse and enroll in therapy and drug and alcohol treatment. Meserve refused, he said, describing the night in the trailer as consensual. Next, Smith approached Fire Chief Travis Howe about kicking Meserve out of the volunteer fire department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when the group learned this wasn’t the first time Meserve had been accused of rape. A year earlier, a young woman was visiting a friend of Meserve’s. After a night of partying at the Yellow Rose bar, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036005-Meserve-Warrant.html\">31-year-old woman said\u003c/a>, Meserve came into her room while she was sleeping and forced himself on her. When he couldn’t maintain an erection, he left, but soon came back and tried again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woman never filed a police report, and only a few people in town knew. Howe was one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Howe said he had confronted Meserve, who told him it was consensual. “He messed up terribly, cheating on his wife,” Howe said. “He needed to get spanked.” When Meserve promised to do better, Howe kept him on as a fire captain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now the group realized Terri’s experience was not an isolated incident. It was a pattern of behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One week had passed since Terri’s assault. She had expressed little interest in contacting law enforcement. But the group thought something had to be done for the safety of other women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They asked her to take a step many rape victims dread: Would she call the police?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">F\u003c/span>or victims of sexual assault, the answer often lies beneath layers of fear and shame. Rape\u003ca href=\"http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/rape-sexual-violence/pages/rape-notification.aspx\"> usually goes unreported\u003c/a>, but trimmigrants face particular pressure to avoid law enforcement. Calling police may rule out future jobs in the industry, especially if that contact alerts police to an illegal grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hell no, you don’t call the cops on anybody for anything if you want to work in Humboldt,” said Karen Bejcek, a trimmigrant who usually lives in a teepee in Siskiyou County when she’s not trimming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other conditions in pot country prevent victims from seeking any kind of help. Trimmigrants often lack the local connections or even the know-how to successfully navigate their way out of the wild, wooded terrain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because many work on illegal grows, they suspect law enforcement won’t do anything anyway. And because the industry attracts a young and transient workforce, victims – who may come with their own troubled histories – do not always recognize they are being abused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130099\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130099\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-800x536.jpg\" alt=\"Khaled Mourra (L) of Mexico and Mayssan Charafeddine of Montreal try to hitch a ride in Garberville, Calif. During harvest season, “trimmigrants” crowd the town’s sidewalks jockeying for jobs with homemade signs or try to meet potential employers by frequenting local bars.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-800x536.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-400x268.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-960x643.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Khaled Mourra (L) of Mexico and Mayssan Charafeddine of Montreal try to hitch a ride in Garberville, Calif. During harvest season, “trimmigrants” crowd the town’s sidewalks jockeying for jobs with homemade signs or try to meet potential employers by frequenting local bars. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One teen from Humboldt County said she started working for a local grower when she was 12. He gave her methamphetamine to speed up her trimming work, she said, and passed her around to pay off his debts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re tweaking, you’re good,” she said, touting her trimming prowess. “I did, like, a couple pounds in like one night.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The girl eventually ran away, reaching a youth homeless shelter in the county seat of Eureka, only to discover that pimps were using it as a hunting ground. At 14, she said, she became their recruiter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She wasn’t the only one. At least two other shelter residents said men used them to recruit other teens, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036021-AC-Disclosure-101414-1.html\">according to a report\u003c/a> later submitted to the state Department of Social Services. The shelter’s executive director, Patt Sweeney, said he was aware teens in the program had been trafficked for sex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made reports to law enforcement,” he said. “It’s just very hard to prosecute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In exchange for alcohol and marijuana, the girl brought other teens to parties at local motels, where they were given drugs and alcohol and had sex, sometimes by force. She said the parties drew growers and gang members involved in marijuana distribution. Because she brought girls, she said she was never assaulted – and the music and dancing could be fun. But she doesn’t remember much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was always drunk,” she said with a shrug. “And then we’d just go buy more drugs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the girls she met at the shelter and parties also traveled south to trim on marijuana farms. Once there, she said, some found they were expected to do more than trim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sales pitch to young girls is common in pot country, according to Leah Gee, the director of a group home in Eureka that housed the girl. “They’ll give you weed, alcohol and food, and all you have to do is trim.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130101\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130101\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"“They’ll give you weed, alcohol and food, and all you have to do is trim,” Leah Gee says of the sales pitch to underage girls looking for work on pot farms. But Gee, the director of a group home in Eureka, Calif., says they sometimes find they’re expected to do more than trim.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“They’ll give you weed, alcohol and food, and all you have to do is trim,” Leah Gee says of the sales pitch to underage girls looking for work on pot farms. But Gee, the director of a group home in Eureka, Calif., says they sometimes find they’re expected to do more than trim. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2013, federal prosecutors said two growers picked up a 15-year-old runaway in Hollywood and took her to their farm in Lake County, near Humboldt. They directed her to trim marijuana and have sex with them, sometimes while chained to a metal rack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with police after a raid of the farm, the girl described the sex with one of the men as consensual. Sex with the other grower was “\u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3035371-Balletto-Complaint.html\">not as consensual\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she was not free to leave: To keep her from fleeing\u003cstrong>, \u003c/strong>the men put her inside an oversized metal toolbox with breathing holes for several days, according to court records, using a garden hose to clean out her waste. The men also shocked the girl with a cattle prod and told her she would be shot by neighbors if she attempted to leave, an employee later told police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local prosecutors charged the men with human trafficking, the first case of its kind in the county. But when federal authorities took over the case, the trafficking charge was dropped. The men are expected to plead guilty later this year on charges of illegal marijuana cultivation and employing a minor in a drug operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span> deputy sheriff from Humboldt County, Michael Hass, had Terri recount the entire story of her assault over the phone before telling her she had to come in person to make a report – a nearly two-hour drive. The community group that had encouraged her to report made the arrangements. Jenoa Briar-Bonpane went along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When they arrived at the county sheriff’s office in Eureka, they walked through the metal detector, down a beige cinder-block hallway to a dimly lit window in the waiting room, Briar-Bonpane recalls. They told the receptionist they were there to see Hass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After several minutes passed, Hass swung open the door, barely making eye contact with Terri. He told her to follow him, but barred Briar-Bonpane from joining her. She told him it was common practice for an advocate to accompany a sexual assault victim to make a report. According to Briar-Bonpane, Hass refused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about the account, Hass said he did not know that Briar-Bonpane was an advocate and he objected to the many complaints the sheriff’s office later received about his work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were the same complaints that we weren’t taking it seriously and the investigation wasn’t up to the people of Petrolia’s standards,” he said. “From my standpoint, it got handled very seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri agreed to make the report anyway. Hass took her into an empty room and pushed a typed statement based on her telephone account in front of her, Briar-Bonpane said. Terri signed it, and five minutes later, they returned to the waiting room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Can you tell us when you’re going to pick him up?” Briar-Bonpane remembers asking, referring to Kailan Meserve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To file her report, Terri was told she had to come in person. It turned out the same trip was not required of Meserve, Briar-Bonpane said. To her surprise, Hass told her deputies already had interviewed Meserve in Petrolia. Meserve had told them the same story he had told others: The night in the trailer was consensual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reveal could not find any record that the deputies ever searched the trailer, and Meserve’s sister, Amy, confirmed that they never did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one in town seems concerned about him,” Hass said, according to Briar-Bonpane. “We’re not going to arrest him. There’s no evidence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news left the group back in Petrolia shocked – and Terri terrified. While she moved from home to home and finally to a motel outside of town, the group began to deluge the sheriff’s office with emails and phone calls. Terri’s friend Katie Finnegan took a day off work to file a complaint with the office about its handling of the case. Residents sent \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036023-Petrolia-DA-Emails.html\">letters to the district attorney\u003c/a>, complaining about Hass and urging that Meserve be prosecuted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Please do not let this go without a thorough investigation and arrest,” Dick Scheinman, the town doctor, wrote to then-District Attorney Paul Gallegos in December 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A month passed, and he emailed again: “i am not a legal beagle and am not trying to tell you how to do your job, but i feel it is most important for you to try your hardest to find out what happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Meserve remained in Petrolia. “I am very concerned about the safety of women in the Mattole Valley while he is present there,” Briar-Bonpane wrote to newly elected District Attorney Maggie Fleming in March 2015. “Young boys/men in the valley are watching and learning about whether or not you can sexually assault women without consequences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Word of Terri’s allegations reached the woman who had said Meserve raped her the year before. She felt nauseous, then angry. She blamed herself for not reporting it, “because maybe she could have prevented it from happening to the other girl,” an investigator later wrote. About a month after Terri visited Hass, the second victim decided to report her rape. \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036005-Meserve-Warrant.html\">Records show\u003c/a> Hass told her to call the district attorney’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case landed on the desk of Kyla Baxley, the district attorney’s investigator responsible for child abuse and sexual assault cases. She has a reputation for being thorough, going beyond the case information filed by local law enforcement. In 2014, Baxley gathered evidence that allowed the district attorney’s office to prosecute its first human trafficking case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Time and again, Baxley had seen victims in Humboldt County “not met with the respect they deserve,” she told Reveal. In the Petrolia case, she said, both victims felt blown off by the sheriff’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was already a big step for her to take, for her to report it,” she said of Terri. “I was really frustrated, honestly. I felt awful for the poor thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baxley immediately launched her investigation, making plans to meet Terri in person. She brought in community advocates to support Terri as she shared her story yet again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tried to show her there were a lot of people who supported her and wanted to hear her truth,” Baxley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On April 14, 2015, prosecutors filed charges against Meserve for raping both women. Two weeks later, he surrendered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>s the marijuana industry has grown and the trimmigrant population with it, service providers have encountered increasing numbers of human trafficking victims. Humboldt Domestic Violence Services answered more than 2,000 crisis calls last year, an increase of about 80 percent in four years. Executive Director Brenda Bishop attributed the increase to a surge in sexual abuse and trafficking on marijuana grows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130103\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130103\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Trimmed marijuana buds dry at a farm. Trimmers serve at the mercy of their bosses, who are themselves vulnerable to the risks of operating in the black market. When conflicts arise, trimmigrants may find themselves fired without pay.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trimmed marijuana buds dry at a farm. Trimmers serve at the mercy of their bosses, who are themselves vulnerable to the risks of operating in the black market. When conflicts arise, trimmigrants may find themselves fired without pay. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other organizations have noticed a problem, too, including the Eureka Police Department. In a survey of about 200 local homeless people, Police Chief Andrew Mills said his department discovered many were former trimmigrants who had been forced to work on marijuana farms without pay, including women who reported being required to perform sex acts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite evidence of a growing problem, law enforcement has put few resources into investigations of trafficking and sexual exploitation. Instead, police have conducted stings targeting prostitutes and sometimes their pimps. And the Eureka police chief recently posed as a grower online to attract trimmers, only to \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036273-Trimmigrant-EPD-letter.html\">warn them\u003c/a> not to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One reason is that, in this spread-out rural region, there are not enough detectives to go around. In Humboldt County, the sheriff’s office is so overtaxed that many deputies are responsible for investigating crimes – a job typically left to detectives – in addition to responding to 911 calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a detective bureau to handle the bad of the bad crimes, and they can’t even keep up with that. So our deputies are more like detectives,” Lt. Wayne Hanson said. “It’s triage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Humboldt native with a bushy gray mustache, Hanson has raided marijuana farms for more than two decades. On the walls of his office are framed photographs and news clips, including one from the day after voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996. In the photograph, Hanson – with a dark brown mustache – stands next to towering piles of marijuana plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a warehouse in downtown Eureka, where people were growing marijuana for money. That’s why marijuana is grown – for money, not for medical reasons,” Hanson said. “People are greedy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hanson and other local law enforcement officials see the greed that has amplified California’s marijuana industry as a common denominator in violent and organized crimes. Hanson said many grows also cause environmental damage. As a result, marijuana has remained a high priority for them, even as federal and state authorities have pulled back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130104\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130104\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Richard Mansfield trims cannabis on his daughter’s farm in Redcrest, Calif. Workers rotate the buds with the tips of their fingers as they clip off the stems and curly bits of leaf.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Richard Mansfield trims cannabis on his daughter’s farm in Redcrest, Calif. Workers rotate the buds with the tips of their fingers as they clip off the stems and curly bits of leaf. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Marijuana raids also have become a large source of revenue for local law enforcement agencies. During raids, officers have confiscated not just harvests, but also money, guns and even farming equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humboldt County law enforcement agencies made 100 seizures of property and funds last year, including from farmers who had legal permission to grow. The value of the assets totaled more than $2 million – more per capita than was pulled from the state’s 15 most populous counties combined, \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/publications/asset_forf/2015-af/2015-af.pdf?\">state data shows\u003c/a>. Mendocino County’s marijuana eradication team receives a finder’s fee from a pool of seized funds for every case it initiates, in addition to a nearly 50 percent cut of any \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036024-Mendocino-Asset-Forfeiture-MOU.html\">confiscated funds\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result is tantamount to tunnel vision, said Kyla Baxley, the district attorney’s office investigator. “They’re going in to eradicate marijuana, and they would probably tell you nothing else is happening but the drugs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That perspective seems to pervade law enforcement agencies across the Emerald Triangle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, the year Terri arrived in Petrolia, a young Mexican woman arrived in nearby Mendocino County, ready to start the restaurant job she was promised. Instead, a grower – Baldemar Alvarez – put her to work on several marijuana farms, she said, and forced her to cook, clean his house and have sex with him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woman said Alvarez, twice her age, called her a prostitute and said she belonged to him until she reimbursed him for hiring a coyote to bring her into the country illegally. He stoked her fear, telling her she’d get lost in the woods and a bear would feast on her body if she fled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the time, I had fear,” said Carmen (not her real name). “Fear, thinking, ‘If the police catch me, they’re going to arrest me. They’re not going to let me explain, they’re not going to believe me.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Carmen persuaded Alvarez to take her to the doctor for stomach pains, she said. Once there, a nurse-midwife told her she was pregnant, and Carmen shared her story of abuse. When she returned to Alvarez, she left her address behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendocino County sheriff’s deputies \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036030-Redacted-Report.html\">picked up Carmen and the grower\u003c/a> a few days later. Carmen was relieved. But at the station, things changed. A detective asked her whether she had made the claims just to get immigration documents, she said. Victims of sexual assault are eligible for a special kind of visa, known as a U-visa. Trafficking victims are eligible for a T-visa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carmen’s abuse allegations are documented in police \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036027-Incident-Report-2014-00023144-Redacted-2.html\">dispatch records\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036275-20160830103623931.html\">a restraining order\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036276-20160830103613365.html\">other documents\u003c/a>, but the full extent of the investigation is unclear. The detective involved did not respond to interview requests, and the sheriff’s office declined to provide a copy of its investigation, saying it was not yet complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Underscoring the he-said, she-said obstacles for law enforcement, Alvarez told Reveal that Carmen fabricated the story to get immigration papers. He told detectives he had planned to marry her. Even though she hasn’t paid him back for her illegal border crossing, he said, he has sent her money on a couple of occasions for the baby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a big misunderstanding; she’s a backstabber is what I call it,” he said, denying he had abused her or anyone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But another woman who had a relationship with the grower and gave birth to \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036291-20160830111656824.html\">one of his children\u003c/a> said he repeatedly has brought women, including herself, into the United States from Mexico and abused them. Investigators never contacted her, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the sun began to rise the morning after deputies took Carmen into custody, she said the detective told her that he had one last request. He put her in a room with Alvarez and had her confront him, to get him to confess. It didn’t work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, at this time, we do not have any evidence to detain him,” she recalled the detective saying. “Everything you say, he denies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deputies charged Alvarez with \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036030-Redacted-Report.html\">felony marijuana cultivation\u003c/a> in August 2014, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036026-Docs-Produced-1.html\">his third\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036025-Reveal-Media-14-15437.html\">arrest\u003c/a> for the offense in three years. \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036274-20160830103632255.html\">Jail records\u003c/a> show he bailed out within 20 minutes. The prosecutor never took the case to court.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Thursday, April 30, 2015\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>he case against Kailan Meserve was unprecedented – the first time a marijuana grower in Humboldt County had been charged with raping a trimmigrant. In Petrolia, it had created a rift, causing many to question the trust they had placed in the community. Yet outside Petrolia, it captured little attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from a local blog, no media outlets covered Meserve’s arrest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remained in jail briefly while the prosecutor’s office argued against allowing him to post his \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036032-Bail-Motion.html\">$2 million bail\u003c/a>. Investigator Kyla Baxley had seen large greenhouses on several of Meserve’s properties and argued that his income had been \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036005-Meserve-Warrant.html\">derived illegally\u003c/a> from the cultivation of marijuana. In the end, Meserve’s family and friends pooled funds, and he was released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130105\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11130105\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/KailanMugshot.jpg\" alt=\"Kailan Meserve of Petrolia, shown in his mugshot. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.\" width=\"500\" height=\"593\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/KailanMugshot.jpg 500w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/KailanMugshot-400x474.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kailan Meserve of Petrolia, shown in his mugshot. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over the next year, he enrolled in treatment for alcohol abuse, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036032-Bail-Motion.html\">court records\u003c/a>. Facebook photos show he and his family also enjoyed a Disney vacation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sam Epperson fell into a deep depression. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was responsible for Terri climbing into Meserve’s truck that night. With harvest season over, Terri had left Petrolia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, on April 4, 2016, the trial date arrived. Meserve sat next to his lawyer in a courtroom in downtown Eureka, dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks. Terri had returned to take the stand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is this your first time testifying in court? How do you feel about being here?” prosecutor Brie Bennett asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“OK,” Terri replied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She described the night in detail. The feeling of panic, the sexual acts, the violence. She answered questions from the defense attorney about her sex life in Petrolia and a shoplifting conviction from years ago. At one point, her voice began to crack, and she wiped tears from behind her black-framed glasses. Her voice grew faint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge leaned over. “Please speak up,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other victim described waking up the morning after the assault, crying and sore. She told her friend she had to go, according to court records, and began the long drive back to San Francisco, making stops to throw up along the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the stand, Meserve denied having a drug problem and called his encounters with Terri and the other woman consensual. Everyone was drunk, he said. No one ever told him to stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did she say she wanted to go to the trailer?” the prosecutor asked about Terri.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She never said she didn’t,” Meserve responded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From her seat in the courtroom, Meserve’s sister, Amy, remembers watching an image take shape that she did not recognize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s being portrayed like some monster,” she said later. “Obviously, he did not think he was raping anyone. I just don’t think he did. That’s not who he is, that’s not what he’s capable of. I just know if they would have said no or stop or anything, he would have stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Meserve’s family attended the trial, most of the group that had supported Terri remained behind in Petrolia. It was a far distance to travel, but it also was painful to watch. Many believed it had been a mistake to contact law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am friends with his sister and his dad and his mom,” said longtime local grower Greg Smith. “It feels like we’re carrying a big weight on our chest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130106\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Nearly everyone in the tiny town of Petrolia knows each other. Most are involved in marijuana growing to some degree. It’s where Terri, a 22-year-old environmentalist and musician, arrived in the middle of the 2014 harvest season looking for trimming work.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nearly everyone in the tiny town of Petrolia knows each other. Most are involved in marijuana growing to some degree. It’s where Terri, a 22-year-old environmentalist and musician, arrived in the middle of the 2014 harvest season looking for trimming work. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The community of Petrolia was changing, but residents weren’t sure it was for the better. California Gov. Jerry Brown had signed a package of laws that would further regulate the medical marijuana industry, beginning with state-issued licenses in 2018. Many Humboldt County growers have refused to participate. They would not sign up for county permits, the first step toward legal compliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To complicate matters, under the new regulations, counties can ban growing altogether, and many have, preserving a highly profitable black market. Competition is increasing, and prices are likely to drop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this new future, it seemed, small farmers would struggle financially. Success would mean going big or continuing to sell on the black market. Before his arrest, Meserve had found that success growing marijuana, accruing land, money and power. But some wondered, at what cost?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On April 19, a jury found Meserve guilty of 15 felony counts, including rape and false imprisonment. His wife began to cry as deputies handcuffed him and took him into custody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the news reached Petrolia, many in the group that had supported Terri felt deflated instead of relieved. They knew the conviction meant Meserve could end up spending the rest of his life in prison. Smith and Epperson agreed to write letters to the judge urging a lenient sentence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would rather have rehabilitation than punishment,” Smith said. “Some people think it’s impossible with him, but I don’t know. I just have hope that people can change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On July 28, the Meserve family and their supporters filed into the courtroom. Meserve’s mother, sister and wife cried as he stood motionless, awaiting the judge’s sentence. Each read from a prepared statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These charges are extreme and overboard,” said his father, David. “These charges are from an enthusiasm for prosecuting people in the marijuana industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kailan wants to start an AA group in Petrolia,” said Monica, his wife. “He wants to give back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri was not there. An advocate read a statement from the second victim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every morsel of self-confidence has left me,” she read. “Humboldt is my home, and I cannot bring myself to visit my friends or family there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge sentenced Meserve to 23 years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130107\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130107\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A handwritten ad solicits work in downtown Garberville. Male trimmers told Reveal they repeatedly were passed up or let go to make room for female workers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A handwritten ad solicits work in downtown Garberville. Male trimmers told Reveal they repeatedly were passed up or let go to make room for female workers. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He did not make a statement in court that day. Through his family, he declined to comment for this story. Terri has since moved out of state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, as the harvest season swings into full gear, a new crop of trimmigrants is streaming north, thumbs out, pointing toward the thickly forested mountains of the Emerald Triangle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Correction:\u003c/strong> An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the pingpong tournament held at Petrolia’s community center. Only Meserve was involved with the setup.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"For decades, the Emerald Triangle has provided cover for the nation’s largest marijuana-growing industry. But its forests also hide secrets, among them young women with stories of sexual abuse and exploitation.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1476813679,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":218,"wordCount":9526},"headData":{"title":"In Secretive Marijuana Industry, Whispers of Abuse and Trafficking | KQED","description":"For decades, the Emerald Triangle has provided cover for the nation’s largest marijuana-growing industry. But its forests also hide secrets, among them young women with stories of sexual abuse and exploitation.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"In Secretive Marijuana Industry, Whispers of Abuse and Trafficking","datePublished":"2016-10-14T23:11:55.000Z","dateModified":"2016-10-18T18:01:19.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"authorsData":[{"type":"authors","id":"byline_news_11129842","meta":{"override":true},"slug":"byline_news_11129842","name":"\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.revealnews.org/author/shoshana-walter/\">Shoshana Walter\u003c/a> \u003cbr> \u003ca href=\"https://www.revealnews.org/\">Reveal\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>","isLoading":false}],"imageData":{"ogImageSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PotFarmMainCIR-1920x1198.jpg","width":1920,"height":1198,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twImageSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PotFarmMainCIR-1920x1198.jpg","width":1920,"height":1198,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twitterCard":"summary_large_image"},"tagData":{"tags":["featured","human trafficking","marijuana","marijuana farms","sexual assault","tcr","the-california-report-featured"]}},"disqusIdentifier":"11129842 http://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=11129842","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/10/14/in-secretive-marijuana-industry-whispers-of-abuse-and-trafficking/","disqusTitle":"In Secretive Marijuana Industry, Whispers of Abuse and Trafficking","source":"Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting","sourceUrl":"https://www.revealnews.org/","nprByline":"\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.revealnews.org/author/shoshana-walter/\">Shoshana Walter\u003c/a> \u003cbr> \u003ca href=\"https://www.revealnews.org/\">Reveal\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>","path":"/news/11129842/in-secretive-marijuana-industry-whispers-of-abuse-and-trafficking","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was part of a special edition of KQED's The California Report Magazine, produced in collaboration with Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"http://revealnews.org/\">\u003cem>revealnews.org\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and subscribe to the Reveal podcast, produced with PRX, at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"http://revealnews.org/podcast\">\u003cem>revealnews.org/podcast\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>he trees towered above them, limbs etched in black against the night sky. He steered his pickup down a narrow path of mud and rocks and parked in front of a trailer. He tried to kiss her. She froze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are you doing?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have to get up early,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He began groping her body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t you have a wife?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woods seemed to crawl with creatures; the ground was slick with rain. As wilderness pulsed around them, she ran through the possibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If she fled, would she find her way out? If she fought back, would he hurt her?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Would anyone hear her if she screamed?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Listen to the special edition of The California Report Magazine, produced in collaboration with Reveal from The Center for Investigation Reporting:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='100%' height='400'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/287778617&visual=true&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/287778617'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Emerald Triangle, trees are ever present. They peek over small towns and dip into valleys, sheathing this cluster of remote Northern California counties in silence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the ancient forests here have provided cover for the nation’s largest marijuana-growing industry, shielding pot farmers from convention, outsiders and law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the forests also hide secrets, among them young women with stories of sexual abuse and exploitation. Some have spoken out; a handful have pressed charges. Most have confided only in private.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students from the nearest college, Humboldt State University, return from a summer of trimming marijuana buds with tales of being forced to give their boss a blow job to get paid. Other “trimmigrants,” who typically work during the June-to-November harvest, recount offers of higher wages to trim topless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During one harvest season, two growers began having sex with their teenage trimmer. When they feared she would run away, they locked her inside an oversized toolbox with breathing holes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contact with law enforcement is rare and, female trimmigrants say, rarely satisfying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130062\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Emily Rothman of Florida throws her pack into a truck that will take her to a friend’s pot farm in Garberville. She said all the women she knows have been warned of things to watch out for when coming to the area for work.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/EmilyRothmanTrimmigrant-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Rothman of Florida throws her pack into a truck that will take her to a friend’s pot farm in Garberville. She said all the women she knows have been warned of things to watch out for when coming to the area for work. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Verifying their stories is as difficult as finding your way through the forest at night, down twisty dirt roads, to one of the backwoods marijuana farms. During months of reporting in the region, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting unearthed dozens of accounts of sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking. Victims’ advocates say the problem is far larger and, with every harvest, continues to grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Women believe they are getting hired for trimming work, and then they’re drugged and raped,” said Maryann Hayes Mariani, a coordinator for the North Coast Rape Crisis Team. “Everybody looks at (the region) like it’s the Land of Oz. I’m just so tired of pretending like it’s not happening here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet law enforcement repeatedly has failed to investigate abuse and sexual violence in the industry. Instead, officers mostly focus on what they view as the root cause of the problem: the drug trade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the rural counties of Northern California, marijuana is still a largely underground industry, worth billions. Last year, legal California sales alone were valued at $2.7 billion, according to \u003ca href=\"https://frontierfinancials.com/product/california/?ref=AMR\">The ArcView Group\u003c/a>, a marijuana market research firm. Sales are projected to balloon to $6.4 billion by 2020 if marijuana is legalized for recreational use. It’s big business, drawing busloads of job seekers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130068\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130068\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Ads for trimmers are tacked to a bulletin board in Garberville, Calif. Female trimmers often pair up, even form trimming collectives, counting on safety in numbers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmigrantScissorPost-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ads for trimmers are tacked to a bulletin board in Garberville, Calif. Female trimmers often pair up, even form trimming collectives, counting on safety in numbers. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The number of trimmigrants who go missing alone is overwhelming for law enforcement, fueling an epidemic of the lost. In 2015, Humboldt County reported 352 missing people, more per capita than any other county in \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/missing/stats\">the state\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When an artist from San Francisco disappeared in the Humboldt County town of Garberville last harvest season, her mother and roommate filed a missing persons report. Months later, she resurfaced to tell her family she had been held against her will on a marijuana farm, drugged and sexually abused. She never formally reported her abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at the time of her disappearance, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.humboldtgov.org/187/Sheriffs-Office\">Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office\u003c/a>had labeled her a “voluntary missing adult.” They flagged the case as a low priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Many people come to Humboldt each year to work on the marijuana farms,” the deputy who took the report told her roommate \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3035995-Screen-Shot-2016-08-29-at-3-47-56-PM.html\">in an email\u003c/a>. “So far she is falling into the same category as many others have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to women and girls who come of their own volition to trim, others are brought in specifically to provide sex services. Come harvest season, escorts flood these rural areas, drawn to the large population of male growers and laborers who spend months at a time alone on isolated mountain farms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ron Prose, an investigator for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ci.eureka.ca.gov/depts/police/\">Eureka Police Departmen\u003c/a>t, said sex traffickers know law enforcement agencies have little interest in cracking down on them. None of the county agencies surveyed by Reveal have investigators assigned to human trafficking. Prose himself is semi-retired; he investigates trafficking cases when he has time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130072\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130072\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Some growers prefer to keep trimmers in the dark about where they are working, blindfolding workers before driving to remote plots deep in the mountains.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmedLeaves-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some growers prefer to keep trimmers in the dark about where they are working, blindfolding workers before driving to remote plots deep in the mountains. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For women, the dangers are due in part to the gender dynamics in the industry. Growing is a male-dominated field, and many growers prefer to hire female trimmers. Several told Reveal that they believe women are more dexterous, making them more efficient workers. Others are looking for company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of these younger guys don’t have regular relationships because they’re out in the hills growing weed, but they still want a girl,” Prose said. “It sounds kind of crude, but they seek female companionship.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, many marijuana farms are responsible operations. Most workers describe good experiences, including excellent pay, food and shelter. Many also welcome the unusual working conditions of an industry long at odds with mainstream culture and the law. Drug use on the job, for instance, is common.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November, California voters will decide whether to fully \u003ca href=\"http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2016/general/en/pdf/complete-vig.pdf\">legalize recreational marijuana\u003c/a>. But such use remains illegal under federal and most state laws, and the culture of silence is so embedded in the state’s industry – the nation’s top black market supplier – it seems unlikely that legalization alone will dramatically alter the landscape for women toiling deep in the Emerald Triangle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of wilderness here, and dirt roads and acres of forest,” said Amy Benitez, a victims’ advocate in Humboldt County. “There’s a lot of nooks and crannies you can hide in. You add this criminal element to it, where there’s money, and there’s just more ways that you can abuse power and control.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>hat power imbalance is what ensnared a 22-year-old environmentalist and musician who arrived in one of the mountain towns in the middle of the 2014 harvest season looking for trimming work. In Petrolia, Terri – not her real name – found a world apart from her hometown in the Los Angeles Basin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Petrolia sits beneath the King Range mountains at the edge of Humboldt County, hidden behind a curtain of redwoods and Douglas fir trees. With a population of about 400, it has one general store, one bar, no cellphone service and no police. It’s about two hours down crumbling cliffside roads to the nearest highway. Most locals live in the surrounding mountains, overlooking the forested valley and black sand beaches of the last undeveloped stretch of California known as the Lost Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130076\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130076\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"The town of Petrolia sits beneath the King Range mountains at the edge of Humboldt County. With a population of about 400, it has one general store, one bar, no cellphone service and no police.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaCA-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The town of Petrolia sits beneath the King Range mountains at the edge of Humboldt County. With a population of about 400, it has one general store, one bar, no cellphone service and no police. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I like to think of Petrolia as this little town hanging off the edge of the world,” said Jenoa Briar-Bonpane, a former resident who became Terri’s therapist. “At night, you’ve never seen so many stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly everyone in Petrolia knows each other. Most are involved in marijuana growing to some degree. But like other small towns dotting the Emerald Triangle, in the past decade, more and more people have moved in. Greenhouses have sprung up, enabling industrial-scale marijuana growing. Larger farms have drawn more workers from outside the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first, Terri did not have a job. An acquaintance introduced her to Cedar McCulloch-Clow and Emily Herman, a married couple with two children, a horde of chickens and goats, and a bicycle-strewn junkyard. Terri set up a tent in the couple’s yard, plunked down her violin and camping gear and began looking for work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130079\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130079\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Cedar McCulloch-Clow, a goat farmer and volunteer firefighter, owns the property where Terri pitched her tent while doing trim work in Petrolia.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Cedar-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cedar McCulloch-Clow, a goat farmer and volunteer firefighter, owns the property where Terri pitched her tent while doing trim work in Petrolia. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She also set about working her way into the community. She went to the weekly farmers market at the community center and ran and biked in the annual Rye and Tide, a 7 1/2-mile race that begins with a swig of whiskey outside the town bar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri found a couple of trimming jobs, including for Sam Epperson and his partner, Rachel Adair. Their operation was far smaller than the region’s newer marijuana fields – known as grows – and had a vegetable garden and turkey coop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri and three other trimmers sat in a row of swivel office chairs in a wood-paneled trimming shack. They wore aprons to keep from tracking loose leaves into the house and carefully tallied the weight of their work – they would be paid $200 a pound – with pencil and paper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130081\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130081\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Terri sat in an office chair in this cramped shack, trimming marijuana buds. She and three other trimmers were paid $200 for every pound. They wore aprons and tracked their work with paper and pencil.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/TrimmingStation-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Terri sat in an office chair in this cramped shack, trimming marijuana buds. She and three other trimmers were paid $200 for every pound. They wore aprons and tracked their work with paper and pencil. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Epperson, quiet and bespectacled with a mop of graying curls, prepared fresh food and drinks for the workers. Every day, he offered them an organic chocolate bar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One night, on the concrete patio of the town bar – \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/yellowrosepetrolia/\">the Yellow Rose\u003c/a> – Terri met a grower named Kailan Meserve. He was twice her age, tan and muscular, with a swagger and salt-and-pepper hair. Meserve mentioned he needed trimmers and bought her a beer. A friend of Terri’s, Katie Finnegan, went inside to buy another drink. When Finnegan returned, Terri had disappeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130082\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130082\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Marijuana trimmer Terri met local grower Kailan Meserve one night at the Yellow Rose bar in Petrolia, Calif., in 2014.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/YellowRoseBar-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marijuana trimmer Terri met local grower Kailan Meserve one night at the Yellow Rose bar in Petrolia, Calif., in 2014. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Inside, the bar is a bright, airy space with pristine off-white walls and a polished beige floor – a contrast with its often grungy clientele. One side of the bar is lined with light metal cafe tables, the other with pool tables and arcade games. The darkest part of the bar is to the left of the dartboard, a long dim hallway to the single-stall women’s restroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 45 minutes after Finnegan lost track of Terri, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036002-Yellow-Rose-excerpt.html\">court records show\u003c/a> she found her unconscious in that bathroom, her pants around her ankles. Terri appeared to have fallen and hit the sink on her way down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri remembered almost nothing about the night. She was concerned something had happened with Meserve. But back on the grow, Epperson and Adair put her at ease: Meserve was \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036003-Humboldt-County-Supervisorial-District-1-PDF.html\">a captain\u003c/a> of the volunteer fire department, the son of a \u003ca href=\"http://www.northcoastjournal.com/091803/cover0918.html\">prominent\u003c/a> local environmental activist and politician. Meserve, they said, was married with toddler twins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s a good guy,” Epperson recalled telling her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple still had work for Terri, but on their small-scale grow, the harvest wouldn’t last long. They encouraged her to take up Meserve on his offer of a trimming job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was advice Epperson now says he deeply regrets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">C\u003c/span>onservative ranchers and loggers dominated the small population of the Emerald Triangle when hippies began arriving en masse in the late 1960s. They were a diverse bunch, from tree-sitting activists to disillusioned Vietnam veterans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kailan Meserve’s father came to Humboldt County as part of the “back to the land” movement. His first home was a teepee on the Mattole River. Later, he built a house in Petrolia, where he, his wife and children lived on wind and solar power, grew produce and raised their own goats, cows and chickens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first, marijuana was a recreational drug, grown mostly for personal use. It didn’t stay that way for long. Growers realized they could better support themselves and their families by selling pot on the black market. The climate was ideal, the woods and mountains isolated enough to conceal the illicit crop. The American-grown marijuana industry was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130085\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130085\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Sunshine Johnston tends to cannabis plants at her farm in Redcrest, Calif., in the Emerald Triangle.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/SunshineTends-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sunshine Johnston tends to cannabis plants at her farm in Redcrest, Calif., in the Emerald Triangle. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>From the outset, the children of these growers had more difficulties than their parents. The Summer of Love was over. Across the community, alcohol and drug abuse was rampant. So was law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The threat of raids constantly loomed over the Meserve household, threatening to pull the family apart. According to Meserve’s sister, Amy, their parents began using cocaine and alcohol and exploded into constant fights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just got really crazy,” she recalled. “Kailan pretty much raised us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When federal \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/10/us/military-takes-part-in-drug-sweep-and-reaps-criticism-and-a-lawsuit.html?pagewanted=all\">Operation Green Sweep\u003c/a> touched down in Petrolia in 1990, soldiers flew helicopters overhead and officers confronted families in their homes with M16 rifles. Children learned to lie about the reality of their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I still have PTSD,” said Sam Epperson, who grew up on a marijuana farm in eastern Humboldt County. “I can hear choppers flying from miles away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With law enforcement crackdowns came higher black market prices and greater risks. To protect their crops from theft, many farmers began to carry guns and booby-trap their properties. Residents dealt with crime themselves, avoiding law enforcement whenever possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1996, California became the first state in the country to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/MMP/Pages/CompassionateUseact.aspx\">legalize medical marijuana\u003c/a>. But the law failed to limit the amount of marijuana that could be grown, and law enforcement had no way to determine which plants were cultivated for medical purposes or for profit. Crime and black market growing in the Emerald Triangle soared, including by growers with connections to organized crime, vastly eclipsing local law enforcement’s efforts to stop it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lt. Wayne Hanson of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office put it simply: “We lost the drug war many years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The turmoil prompted some of the children to leave. Kailan Meserve was among the many who stayed. He became a stonemason, specializing in fireplaces, and grew pot on the side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “green rush” hit Petrolia in 2010. With California voters \u003ca href=\"http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/19_11_2010.pdf\">considering full legalization\u003c/a>, new growers poured into town hoping to get rich. The hippie haven was about to go mainstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law did not pass, but according to friends, Meserve decided that if anyone was going to make money peddling pot, it was going to be him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He viewed himself as having that hometown advantage,” Cedar McCulloch-Clow said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Locals noticed the change. At a party a few years ago, therapist Jenoa Briar-Bonpane recalls looking over the edge of a mountain ridge and spotting two new grow operations below. “Where did those come from?” she wondered. Someone said they belonged to Meserve, and he became the talk of the party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a sense of, ‘Wow, he’s really blowing things up,’ ” Briar-Bonpane said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a big employer in town, and a local, Meserve enjoyed a trust not afforded to outsiders, including a freedom from consequences, according to friends. He’d always had a brash demeanor and a reputation for hitting on women – even after he married in 2001. Over time, those who knew him said he seemed to sink deeper into drugs and alcohol. He was convicted three times for driving under the influence, according to court records, and got into a car crash that \u003ca href=\"http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20080921/two-injured-in-petrolia-crash\">seriously injured\u003c/a> him and his wife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He “got a little big for his britches,” Amy Meserve said, “and lost his filter completely.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of it seemed to slow down Meserve. His business expanded, and the trimmigrants who showed up in Petrolia looking for work were thankful for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>erri saw Kailan Meserve again at a pingpong tournament. He was one of the few entrusted with a key to the community center and had set up the tables.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meserve offered to buy Terri drinks several times, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036005-Meserve-Warrant.html\">according to investigators\u003c/a> – and each time, she declined. Around 10 p.m., he asked if she had to time to talk, she recalled, “to clear things up.” He offered to give her a ride home. It was rainy, and without sidewalks and streetlights, a walk home in Petrolia could be treacherous. She agreed. She figured she might also ask him about a job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130089\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"One night after a pingpong tournament at the Mattole Valley Community Center in Petrolia, Calif., 22-year-old trimmer Terri got a ride home from local grower Kailan Meserve. But home isn’t where he took her.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/MattoleCommunityCenter-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One night after a pingpong tournament at the Mattole Valley Community Center in Petrolia, Calif., 22-year-old trimmer Terri got a ride home from local grower Kailan Meserve. But home isn’t where he took her. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Terri was staying about 2 miles from the community center. But Meserve went the opposite direction, turning right toward a dark mass of trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where are we going?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just want to show you where my property is,” she remembers him saying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri started to get a “weird feeling,” according to court records. She told him she had to get up early. He ignored her and continued down the road, turning right again at a metal gate and entering a narrow dirt path into a thicket of towering eucalyptus. Finally, they came to a trailer and stopped. He tried to kiss her. She froze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130092\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130092\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"This is the entrance to the isolated property in Petrolia where local grower Kailan Meserve took Terri after a pingpong tournament.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/WoodedPath-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is the entrance to the isolated property in Petrolia where local grower Kailan Meserve took Terri after a pingpong tournament. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“What are you doing?” she asked. “Don’t you have a wife?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her mind spun through the possibilities. Could she find her way back if she ran? Would he chase her? Hurt her? Would anyone hear her if she screamed?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was happening so fast and she could hardly see. Everything outside the beam of the headlights was flooded in black.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri declined to be interviewed for this story, but she encouraged friends and community members to open up and gave permission for her therapist, Briar-Bonpane, to speak as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Taking her to a place that was dark, forested, unknown to her,” Briar-Bonpane said, “it’s the most terrifying situation for a woman who’s with a scary man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meserve asked her to go inside. Terri climbed out of the truck and walked into the trailer. She remembers a small kitchen and a bedroom with a bare mattress. Over the next few hours, according to records, Meserve repeatedly penetrated her and forced her to perform oral sex until she gagged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He held down her arms and at one point throttled her neck. When she began gasping for air, he told her she was “weak and couldn’t take it.” She didn’t scream. The more violent he was, she’d later tell the investigators, the more excited he seemed to become.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m going to make you my bitch,” she recalls him saying, according to court records. He threatened to kill her, freeze her body and throw her to the animals if he ever found out she had slept with anyone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">M\u003c/span>any trimmigrants begin their journey about two hours southeast of Petrolia, in a small strip of a town at the hub of California’s outdoor growing economy. Garberville is surrounded on all sides by mountains of towering redwoods and lined with the kinds of businesses sustained by disposable income, including a \u003ca href=\"http://www.humboldt-hunnies-eminence-day-spa.com/\">spa\u003c/a> and a motorcycle \u003ca href=\"http://www.dazeysmotorsports.com/\">dealership\u003c/a>. Next door, in Redway, there’s even a \u003ca href=\"http://www.thegroomroompetsalon.com/\">pet salon\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Come harvest season, trimmigrants arrive from all over the country and world – college students and artists, working professionals and tourists, homeless hippies and other wanderers. Without connections, they crowd the sidewalks as though on the floor of an auction house, jockeying for jobs with homemade signs. Others camp along the river or in the woods until they find work or try to meet potential employers by frequenting local bars or volunteering at one of the area’s many marijuana-funded nonprofits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130093\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130093\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Carsten (L) and girlfriend Maya (R), both of Germany, and Beaver (back) of London head out after a free lunch at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, Calif. They were looking for trimming jobs to fund their travels but hadn’t gotten any work yet.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-1180x785.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CarstenMaya-960x639.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carsten (L) and girlfriend Maya (R), both of Germany, and Beaver (back) of London head out after a free lunch at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, Calif. They were looking for trimming jobs to fund their travels but hadn’t gotten any work yet. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With marijuana fetching black market prices, they expect wages far higher than typical migrant farmworkers – as much as $300 a day, depending on how fast they work. A successful season can fund months of travel, and the experience itself can be an adventure, harkening back to the drug-infused journeys of Grateful Dead fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of cocaine, a lot of Ecstasy, a lot of meth, a lot of heroin,” said Terri’s former employer Rachel Adair. “It’s like a big party.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But trimmigrants also stumble into a treacherous landscape, both on and off the job. Many locals despise their presence, the trash, the carousing on sidewalks – and the negative impact on tourism. Members of a Garberville group called Locals on Patrol take photographs, check identification and tell people to move on. Anti-trimmigrant bumper stickers have proliferated. “No Work Here, Keep Moving,” they read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trimmigrants also serve at the mercy of their bosses, who are themselves vulnerable to the risks of operating in the black market – ranging from robberies to law enforcement stings. As a result, some growers prefer to keep trimmers in the dark about where they are working. Workers and advocates say growers sometimes blindfold trimmers before driving to plots deep in the mountains, locations so remote that they often lack cell service and public transportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When conflicts arise, trimmigrants may find themselves fired without pay. Even those who complete the job might never get paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130094\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130094\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CraigslistTrimmers1-800x1422.jpg\" alt=\"In Craigslist ads, aspiring female trimmers sometimes include photos of themselves in bikinis or low-cut tops, exploiting the demand for female workers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1422\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CraigslistTrimmers1.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CraigslistTrimmers1-400x711.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Craigslist ads, aspiring female trimmers sometimes include photos of themselves in bikinis or low-cut tops, exploiting the demand for female workers. \u003ccite>(Shoshana Walter/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At 38 years old, Amy Jarose is among the most experienced trimmigrants. One time, she was working on a farm in the mountains when, she said, the grower began to pressure her for blow jobs and sex. She immediately left on foot, without pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You hitchhike,” Jarose said. “You pack up your bags and hit the road and hope to God a really good person will pick you up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growers often target women for trimming jobs; male trimmers told Reveal they repeatedly were passed up or let go to make room for female workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some women exploit the demand. On \u003ca href=\"https://humboldt.craigslist.org/search/fgs\">Craigslist\u003c/a> during the last harvest season, aspiring trimmers posted photos of themselves in bikinis or low-cut tops, accompanied by winking emoticons. One advertisement, offering “Oriental female trimmers,” included the phone number of a sensual massage parlor in Los Angeles. On a community bulletin board in downtown Garberville, a pink lace garter belt adorned one ad, while another read, “We love to cook … and much more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deanna Hirschi once worked as a trimmer but said she soon realized she could earn more by offering sex for pay. She met growers at motels in Garberville or sometimes hours into the mountains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The guys on the hills pay $500 an hour,” she said, three or four times the amount she might get in a city. “They’re stuck up on a hill and they come down from the hill for one day, and they’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars in their pocket.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The demand for female companionship has contributed to sex trafficking in these rural areas from all over the country and world, including from Mexico and Eastern Europe, according to social service providers and victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One local trafficking survivor, who goes by the name Elle Snow, started a nonprofit organization to spread awareness in Humboldt County called\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/itsgameover101/\">Game Over\u003c/a>. To measure the demand, she posted fake escort advertisements on the classified ad website \u003ca href=\"http://humboldt.backpage.com/FemaleEscorts/classifieds/Disclaimer?category=517483\">Backpage\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130096\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130096\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-800x443.jpg\" alt=\"A Backpage ad offers escort services in Humboldt County. To measure demand for such services, local trafficking survivor Elle Snow, who now runs a nonprofit, posted a fake Backpage ad. Within two months, she said, she had accumulated calls and text messages from 437 phone numbers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-800x443.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-400x221.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-1180x653.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-960x532.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-672x372.jpg 672w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/BackpageAd-1038x576.jpg 1038w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Backpage ad offers escort services in Humboldt County. To measure demand for such services, local trafficking survivor Elle Snow, who now runs a nonprofit, posted a fake Backpage ad. Within two months, she said, she had accumulated calls and text messages from 437 phone numbers. \u003ccite>(Shoshana Walter/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Within two months, Snow said, she had accumulated calls and text messages from 437 phone numbers. Many came from southern Humboldt – where Garberville and Petrolia are located – an indication to Snow that many of the potential clients were involved in the marijuana industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Traffickers call Humboldt County not just green for the weed, but green for the bitches,” she said, referring to the money traffickers can make selling women and sex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many trimmers welcome the attention, but others do not. Women pair up, even form trimming collectives, counting on safety in numbers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130097\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130097\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CListOrientalTrimmers-800x1223.jpg\" alt=\"A Craigslist ad offers “Oriental female trimmers” in Humboldt County.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1223\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CListOrientalTrimmers.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CListOrientalTrimmers-400x612.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Craigslist ad offers “Oriental female trimmers” in Humboldt County. \u003ccite>(Shoshana Walter/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Paige Radcliff and Emma Less came last season for trimming work, hoping to make enough to fund their own future harvest. During nearly 14-hour days, the two listened to Israeli folk music and bent over plastic tubs in their laps, rotating the buds with the tips of their fingers as they clipped off the stems and curly bits of leaf. “Give it a little haircut,” Radcliff said again and again, until they had piled up 6 pounds of smooth round nuggets and their fingers were coated in potent, sticky brown resin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If a girl comes here on her own, I wouldn’t recommend it,” Less said. Prior to finding this job, they encountered growers who hit on them – and they simply walked away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Radcliff agreed. “Unless you can super defend yourself, or you just give off a super-intimidating vibe where dudes are scared of you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Like a truck driver.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or a pirate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Exactly, just come across as, like, super peg leg.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Think about it,” Less said, over the steady snip of her scissors. “None of this is monitored. No one knows you’re here, not here. It’s easy for people to go missing. It’s easy for people to take advantage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Monday, Nov. 10, 2014\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>erri showed up for work in a daze the morning after she was assaulted in the forest. Bruises covered her chest and the back of her head. As she picked up her clippers, her boss remembers, she began to cry. She told Rachel Adair that “something inappropriate” had happened with Kailan Meserve and that she was scared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adair – an emergency room nurse and midwife – sent Terri to Jenoa Briar-Bonpane, a therapist and friend. Terri told the therapist the rest of the story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a predator,” Briar-Bonpane recalls thinking. She had treated child sex abuse and rape victims for years, but she was especially struck by how calculating Meserve sounded. “He must be stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A week later, some of Terri’s former employers called for a meeting, inviting town elders, the local doctor and friends. On a crisp November morning, about a dozen people joined Terri in the home near where she had pitched her tent. They gathered in a somber circle around a heavy oak dining table.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cedar McCulloch-Clow, 38, with perpetual dirt under his fingernails and a baseball cap on his head, recalls feeling conflicted about the meeting. He had become friends with Terri during her many nights camping on their property. But he also had known Meserve since he was 15.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The room was tense and quiet, except for the sounds of children playing down the hall. Adair remembers wanting to ensure, first and foremost, that Terri was safe. Dr. Dick Scheinman was adamant that they call the police. Most others wanted to find an alternate solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130098\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130098\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A week after Terri’s rape, community members gathered around this table in Cedar McCulloch-Clow’s home, trying to decide what should be done about her assault.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LivingRoom-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A week after Terri’s rape, community members gathered around this table in Cedar McCulloch-Clow’s home, trying to decide what should be done about her assault. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Greg Smith, whose family has long grown marijuana, was among the town elders there. “There’s a lot of people who grow pot, and they have a resistance to calling the law,” he said later. “It’s kind of the Wild West in some ways.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ideas came in quick succession and were rejected just as quickly. Bring Meserve before a community tribunal. Send a large contingent of men to his doorstep. Gather Petrolia’s population of elderly women and have them chase after him with their shoes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith decided to pay Meserve a visit at home. He urged him to admit he had a problem, show remorse and enroll in therapy and drug and alcohol treatment. Meserve refused, he said, describing the night in the trailer as consensual. Next, Smith approached Fire Chief Travis Howe about kicking Meserve out of the volunteer fire department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when the group learned this wasn’t the first time Meserve had been accused of rape. A year earlier, a young woman was visiting a friend of Meserve’s. After a night of partying at the Yellow Rose bar, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036005-Meserve-Warrant.html\">31-year-old woman said\u003c/a>, Meserve came into her room while she was sleeping and forced himself on her. When he couldn’t maintain an erection, he left, but soon came back and tried again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woman never filed a police report, and only a few people in town knew. Howe was one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Howe said he had confronted Meserve, who told him it was consensual. “He messed up terribly, cheating on his wife,” Howe said. “He needed to get spanked.” When Meserve promised to do better, Howe kept him on as a fire captain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now the group realized Terri’s experience was not an isolated incident. It was a pattern of behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One week had passed since Terri’s assault. She had expressed little interest in contacting law enforcement. But the group thought something had to be done for the safety of other women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They asked her to take a step many rape victims dread: Would she call the police?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">F\u003c/span>or victims of sexual assault, the answer often lies beneath layers of fear and shame. Rape\u003ca href=\"http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/rape-sexual-violence/pages/rape-notification.aspx\"> usually goes unreported\u003c/a>, but trimmigrants face particular pressure to avoid law enforcement. Calling police may rule out future jobs in the industry, especially if that contact alerts police to an illegal grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hell no, you don’t call the cops on anybody for anything if you want to work in Humboldt,” said Karen Bejcek, a trimmigrant who usually lives in a teepee in Siskiyou County when she’s not trimming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other conditions in pot country prevent victims from seeking any kind of help. Trimmigrants often lack the local connections or even the know-how to successfully navigate their way out of the wild, wooded terrain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because many work on illegal grows, they suspect law enforcement won’t do anything anyway. And because the industry attracts a young and transient workforce, victims – who may come with their own troubled histories – do not always recognize they are being abused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130099\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130099\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-800x536.jpg\" alt=\"Khaled Mourra (L) of Mexico and Mayssan Charafeddine of Montreal try to hitch a ride in Garberville, Calif. During harvest season, “trimmigrants” crowd the town’s sidewalks jockeying for jobs with homemade signs or try to meet potential employers by frequenting local bars.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-800x536.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-400x268.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/Khaled-960x643.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Khaled Mourra (L) of Mexico and Mayssan Charafeddine of Montreal try to hitch a ride in Garberville, Calif. During harvest season, “trimmigrants” crowd the town’s sidewalks jockeying for jobs with homemade signs or try to meet potential employers by frequenting local bars. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One teen from Humboldt County said she started working for a local grower when she was 12. He gave her methamphetamine to speed up her trimming work, she said, and passed her around to pay off his debts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re tweaking, you’re good,” she said, touting her trimming prowess. “I did, like, a couple pounds in like one night.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The girl eventually ran away, reaching a youth homeless shelter in the county seat of Eureka, only to discover that pimps were using it as a hunting ground. At 14, she said, she became their recruiter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She wasn’t the only one. At least two other shelter residents said men used them to recruit other teens, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036021-AC-Disclosure-101414-1.html\">according to a report\u003c/a> later submitted to the state Department of Social Services. The shelter’s executive director, Patt Sweeney, said he was aware teens in the program had been trafficked for sex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made reports to law enforcement,” he said. “It’s just very hard to prosecute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In exchange for alcohol and marijuana, the girl brought other teens to parties at local motels, where they were given drugs and alcohol and had sex, sometimes by force. She said the parties drew growers and gang members involved in marijuana distribution. Because she brought girls, she said she was never assaulted – and the music and dancing could be fun. But she doesn’t remember much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was always drunk,” she said with a shrug. “And then we’d just go buy more drugs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the girls she met at the shelter and parties also traveled south to trim on marijuana farms. Once there, she said, some found they were expected to do more than trim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sales pitch to young girls is common in pot country, according to Leah Gee, the director of a group home in Eureka that housed the girl. “They’ll give you weed, alcohol and food, and all you have to do is trim.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130101\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130101\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"“They’ll give you weed, alcohol and food, and all you have to do is trim,” Leah Gee says of the sales pitch to underage girls looking for work on pot farms. But Gee, the director of a group home in Eureka, Calif., says they sometimes find they’re expected to do more than trim.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/LeahGee-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“They’ll give you weed, alcohol and food, and all you have to do is trim,” Leah Gee says of the sales pitch to underage girls looking for work on pot farms. But Gee, the director of a group home in Eureka, Calif., says they sometimes find they’re expected to do more than trim. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2013, federal prosecutors said two growers picked up a 15-year-old runaway in Hollywood and took her to their farm in Lake County, near Humboldt. They directed her to trim marijuana and have sex with them, sometimes while chained to a metal rack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with police after a raid of the farm, the girl described the sex with one of the men as consensual. Sex with the other grower was “\u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3035371-Balletto-Complaint.html\">not as consensual\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she was not free to leave: To keep her from fleeing\u003cstrong>, \u003c/strong>the men put her inside an oversized metal toolbox with breathing holes for several days, according to court records, using a garden hose to clean out her waste. The men also shocked the girl with a cattle prod and told her she would be shot by neighbors if she attempted to leave, an employee later told police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local prosecutors charged the men with human trafficking, the first case of its kind in the county. But when federal authorities took over the case, the trafficking charge was dropped. The men are expected to plead guilty later this year on charges of illegal marijuana cultivation and employing a minor in a drug operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span> deputy sheriff from Humboldt County, Michael Hass, had Terri recount the entire story of her assault over the phone before telling her she had to come in person to make a report – a nearly two-hour drive. The community group that had encouraged her to report made the arrangements. Jenoa Briar-Bonpane went along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When they arrived at the county sheriff’s office in Eureka, they walked through the metal detector, down a beige cinder-block hallway to a dimly lit window in the waiting room, Briar-Bonpane recalls. They told the receptionist they were there to see Hass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After several minutes passed, Hass swung open the door, barely making eye contact with Terri. He told her to follow him, but barred Briar-Bonpane from joining her. She told him it was common practice for an advocate to accompany a sexual assault victim to make a report. According to Briar-Bonpane, Hass refused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about the account, Hass said he did not know that Briar-Bonpane was an advocate and he objected to the many complaints the sheriff’s office later received about his work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were the same complaints that we weren’t taking it seriously and the investigation wasn’t up to the people of Petrolia’s standards,” he said. “From my standpoint, it got handled very seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri agreed to make the report anyway. Hass took her into an empty room and pushed a typed statement based on her telephone account in front of her, Briar-Bonpane said. Terri signed it, and five minutes later, they returned to the waiting room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Can you tell us when you’re going to pick him up?” Briar-Bonpane remembers asking, referring to Kailan Meserve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To file her report, Terri was told she had to come in person. It turned out the same trip was not required of Meserve, Briar-Bonpane said. To her surprise, Hass told her deputies already had interviewed Meserve in Petrolia. Meserve had told them the same story he had told others: The night in the trailer was consensual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reveal could not find any record that the deputies ever searched the trailer, and Meserve’s sister, Amy, confirmed that they never did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one in town seems concerned about him,” Hass said, according to Briar-Bonpane. “We’re not going to arrest him. There’s no evidence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news left the group back in Petrolia shocked – and Terri terrified. While she moved from home to home and finally to a motel outside of town, the group began to deluge the sheriff’s office with emails and phone calls. Terri’s friend Katie Finnegan took a day off work to file a complaint with the office about its handling of the case. Residents sent \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036023-Petrolia-DA-Emails.html\">letters to the district attorney\u003c/a>, complaining about Hass and urging that Meserve be prosecuted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Please do not let this go without a thorough investigation and arrest,” Dick Scheinman, the town doctor, wrote to then-District Attorney Paul Gallegos in December 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A month passed, and he emailed again: “i am not a legal beagle and am not trying to tell you how to do your job, but i feel it is most important for you to try your hardest to find out what happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Meserve remained in Petrolia. “I am very concerned about the safety of women in the Mattole Valley while he is present there,” Briar-Bonpane wrote to newly elected District Attorney Maggie Fleming in March 2015. “Young boys/men in the valley are watching and learning about whether or not you can sexually assault women without consequences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Word of Terri’s allegations reached the woman who had said Meserve raped her the year before. She felt nauseous, then angry. She blamed herself for not reporting it, “because maybe she could have prevented it from happening to the other girl,” an investigator later wrote. About a month after Terri visited Hass, the second victim decided to report her rape. \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036005-Meserve-Warrant.html\">Records show\u003c/a> Hass told her to call the district attorney’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case landed on the desk of Kyla Baxley, the district attorney’s investigator responsible for child abuse and sexual assault cases. She has a reputation for being thorough, going beyond the case information filed by local law enforcement. In 2014, Baxley gathered evidence that allowed the district attorney’s office to prosecute its first human trafficking case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Time and again, Baxley had seen victims in Humboldt County “not met with the respect they deserve,” she told Reveal. In the Petrolia case, she said, both victims felt blown off by the sheriff’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was already a big step for her to take, for her to report it,” she said of Terri. “I was really frustrated, honestly. I felt awful for the poor thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baxley immediately launched her investigation, making plans to meet Terri in person. She brought in community advocates to support Terri as she shared her story yet again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tried to show her there were a lot of people who supported her and wanted to hear her truth,” Baxley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On April 14, 2015, prosecutors filed charges against Meserve for raping both women. Two weeks later, he surrendered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>s the marijuana industry has grown and the trimmigrant population with it, service providers have encountered increasing numbers of human trafficking victims. Humboldt Domestic Violence Services answered more than 2,000 crisis calls last year, an increase of about 80 percent in four years. Executive Director Brenda Bishop attributed the increase to a surge in sexual abuse and trafficking on marijuana grows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130103\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130103\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Trimmed marijuana buds dry at a farm. Trimmers serve at the mercy of their bosses, who are themselves vulnerable to the risks of operating in the black market. When conflicts arise, trimmigrants may find themselves fired without pay.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/DryingBuds-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trimmed marijuana buds dry at a farm. Trimmers serve at the mercy of their bosses, who are themselves vulnerable to the risks of operating in the black market. When conflicts arise, trimmigrants may find themselves fired without pay. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other organizations have noticed a problem, too, including the Eureka Police Department. In a survey of about 200 local homeless people, Police Chief Andrew Mills said his department discovered many were former trimmigrants who had been forced to work on marijuana farms without pay, including women who reported being required to perform sex acts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite evidence of a growing problem, law enforcement has put few resources into investigations of trafficking and sexual exploitation. Instead, police have conducted stings targeting prostitutes and sometimes their pimps. And the Eureka police chief recently posed as a grower online to attract trimmers, only to \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036273-Trimmigrant-EPD-letter.html\">warn them\u003c/a> not to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One reason is that, in this spread-out rural region, there are not enough detectives to go around. In Humboldt County, the sheriff’s office is so overtaxed that many deputies are responsible for investigating crimes – a job typically left to detectives – in addition to responding to 911 calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a detective bureau to handle the bad of the bad crimes, and they can’t even keep up with that. So our deputies are more like detectives,” Lt. Wayne Hanson said. “It’s triage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Humboldt native with a bushy gray mustache, Hanson has raided marijuana farms for more than two decades. On the walls of his office are framed photographs and news clips, including one from the day after voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996. In the photograph, Hanson – with a dark brown mustache – stands next to towering piles of marijuana plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a warehouse in downtown Eureka, where people were growing marijuana for money. That’s why marijuana is grown – for money, not for medical reasons,” Hanson said. “People are greedy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hanson and other local law enforcement officials see the greed that has amplified California’s marijuana industry as a common denominator in violent and organized crimes. Hanson said many grows also cause environmental damage. As a result, marijuana has remained a high priority for them, even as federal and state authorities have pulled back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130104\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130104\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Richard Mansfield trims cannabis on his daughter’s farm in Redcrest, Calif. Workers rotate the buds with the tips of their fingers as they clip off the stems and curly bits of leaf.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/CannaTrimming-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Richard Mansfield trims cannabis on his daughter’s farm in Redcrest, Calif. Workers rotate the buds with the tips of their fingers as they clip off the stems and curly bits of leaf. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Marijuana raids also have become a large source of revenue for local law enforcement agencies. During raids, officers have confiscated not just harvests, but also money, guns and even farming equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humboldt County law enforcement agencies made 100 seizures of property and funds last year, including from farmers who had legal permission to grow. The value of the assets totaled more than $2 million – more per capita than was pulled from the state’s 15 most populous counties combined, \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/publications/asset_forf/2015-af/2015-af.pdf?\">state data shows\u003c/a>. Mendocino County’s marijuana eradication team receives a finder’s fee from a pool of seized funds for every case it initiates, in addition to a nearly 50 percent cut of any \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036024-Mendocino-Asset-Forfeiture-MOU.html\">confiscated funds\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result is tantamount to tunnel vision, said Kyla Baxley, the district attorney’s office investigator. “They’re going in to eradicate marijuana, and they would probably tell you nothing else is happening but the drugs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That perspective seems to pervade law enforcement agencies across the Emerald Triangle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, the year Terri arrived in Petrolia, a young Mexican woman arrived in nearby Mendocino County, ready to start the restaurant job she was promised. Instead, a grower – Baldemar Alvarez – put her to work on several marijuana farms, she said, and forced her to cook, clean his house and have sex with him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The woman said Alvarez, twice her age, called her a prostitute and said she belonged to him until she reimbursed him for hiring a coyote to bring her into the country illegally. He stoked her fear, telling her she’d get lost in the woods and a bear would feast on her body if she fled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the time, I had fear,” said Carmen (not her real name). “Fear, thinking, ‘If the police catch me, they’re going to arrest me. They’re not going to let me explain, they’re not going to believe me.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Carmen persuaded Alvarez to take her to the doctor for stomach pains, she said. Once there, a nurse-midwife told her she was pregnant, and Carmen shared her story of abuse. When she returned to Alvarez, she left her address behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendocino County sheriff’s deputies \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036030-Redacted-Report.html\">picked up Carmen and the grower\u003c/a> a few days later. Carmen was relieved. But at the station, things changed. A detective asked her whether she had made the claims just to get immigration documents, she said. Victims of sexual assault are eligible for a special kind of visa, known as a U-visa. Trafficking victims are eligible for a T-visa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carmen’s abuse allegations are documented in police \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036027-Incident-Report-2014-00023144-Redacted-2.html\">dispatch records\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036275-20160830103623931.html\">a restraining order\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036276-20160830103613365.html\">other documents\u003c/a>, but the full extent of the investigation is unclear. The detective involved did not respond to interview requests, and the sheriff’s office declined to provide a copy of its investigation, saying it was not yet complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Underscoring the he-said, she-said obstacles for law enforcement, Alvarez told Reveal that Carmen fabricated the story to get immigration papers. He told detectives he had planned to marry her. Even though she hasn’t paid him back for her illegal border crossing, he said, he has sent her money on a couple of occasions for the baby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a big misunderstanding; she’s a backstabber is what I call it,” he said, denying he had abused her or anyone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But another woman who had a relationship with the grower and gave birth to \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036291-20160830111656824.html\">one of his children\u003c/a> said he repeatedly has brought women, including herself, into the United States from Mexico and abused them. Investigators never contacted her, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the sun began to rise the morning after deputies took Carmen into custody, she said the detective told her that he had one last request. He put her in a room with Alvarez and had her confront him, to get him to confess. It didn’t work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, at this time, we do not have any evidence to detain him,” she recalled the detective saying. “Everything you say, he denies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deputies charged Alvarez with \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036030-Redacted-Report.html\">felony marijuana cultivation\u003c/a> in August 2014, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036026-Docs-Produced-1.html\">his third\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036025-Reveal-Media-14-15437.html\">arrest\u003c/a> for the offense in three years. \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036274-20160830103632255.html\">Jail records\u003c/a> show he bailed out within 20 minutes. The prosecutor never took the case to court.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Thursday, April 30, 2015\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>he case against Kailan Meserve was unprecedented – the first time a marijuana grower in Humboldt County had been charged with raping a trimmigrant. In Petrolia, it had created a rift, causing many to question the trust they had placed in the community. Yet outside Petrolia, it captured little attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from a local blog, no media outlets covered Meserve’s arrest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remained in jail briefly while the prosecutor’s office argued against allowing him to post his \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036032-Bail-Motion.html\">$2 million bail\u003c/a>. Investigator Kyla Baxley had seen large greenhouses on several of Meserve’s properties and argued that his income had been \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036005-Meserve-Warrant.html\">derived illegally\u003c/a> from the cultivation of marijuana. In the end, Meserve’s family and friends pooled funds, and he was released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130105\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 500px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11130105\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/KailanMugshot.jpg\" alt=\"Kailan Meserve of Petrolia, shown in his mugshot. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.\" width=\"500\" height=\"593\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/KailanMugshot.jpg 500w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/KailanMugshot-400x474.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kailan Meserve of Petrolia, shown in his mugshot. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over the next year, he enrolled in treatment for alcohol abuse, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3036032-Bail-Motion.html\">court records\u003c/a>. Facebook photos show he and his family also enjoyed a Disney vacation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sam Epperson fell into a deep depression. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was responsible for Terri climbing into Meserve’s truck that night. With harvest season over, Terri had left Petrolia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, on April 4, 2016, the trial date arrived. Meserve sat next to his lawyer in a courtroom in downtown Eureka, dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks. Terri had returned to take the stand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is this your first time testifying in court? How do you feel about being here?” prosecutor Brie Bennett asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“OK,” Terri replied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She described the night in detail. The feeling of panic, the sexual acts, the violence. She answered questions from the defense attorney about her sex life in Petrolia and a shoplifting conviction from years ago. At one point, her voice began to crack, and she wiped tears from behind her black-framed glasses. Her voice grew faint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge leaned over. “Please speak up,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other victim described waking up the morning after the assault, crying and sore. She told her friend she had to go, according to court records, and began the long drive back to San Francisco, making stops to throw up along the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the stand, Meserve denied having a drug problem and called his encounters with Terri and the other woman consensual. Everyone was drunk, he said. No one ever told him to stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did she say she wanted to go to the trailer?” the prosecutor asked about Terri.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She never said she didn’t,” Meserve responded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From her seat in the courtroom, Meserve’s sister, Amy, remembers watching an image take shape that she did not recognize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s being portrayed like some monster,” she said later. “Obviously, he did not think he was raping anyone. I just don’t think he did. That’s not who he is, that’s not what he’s capable of. I just know if they would have said no or stop or anything, he would have stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Meserve’s family attended the trial, most of the group that had supported Terri remained behind in Petrolia. It was a far distance to travel, but it also was painful to watch. Many believed it had been a mistake to contact law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am friends with his sister and his dad and his mom,” said longtime local grower Greg Smith. “It feels like we’re carrying a big weight on our chest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130106\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Nearly everyone in the tiny town of Petrolia knows each other. Most are involved in marijuana growing to some degree. It’s where Terri, a 22-year-old environmentalist and musician, arrived in the middle of the 2014 harvest season looking for trimming work.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/PetroliaSunset-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nearly everyone in the tiny town of Petrolia knows each other. Most are involved in marijuana growing to some degree. It’s where Terri, a 22-year-old environmentalist and musician, arrived in the middle of the 2014 harvest season looking for trimming work. \u003ccite>(Andrew Burton/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The community of Petrolia was changing, but residents weren’t sure it was for the better. California Gov. Jerry Brown had signed a package of laws that would further regulate the medical marijuana industry, beginning with state-issued licenses in 2018. Many Humboldt County growers have refused to participate. They would not sign up for county permits, the first step toward legal compliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To complicate matters, under the new regulations, counties can ban growing altogether, and many have, preserving a highly profitable black market. Competition is increasing, and prices are likely to drop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this new future, it seemed, small farmers would struggle financially. Success would mean going big or continuing to sell on the black market. Before his arrest, Meserve had found that success growing marijuana, accruing land, money and power. But some wondered, at what cost?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On April 19, a jury found Meserve guilty of 15 felony counts, including rape and false imprisonment. His wife began to cry as deputies handcuffed him and took him into custody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the news reached Petrolia, many in the group that had supported Terri felt deflated instead of relieved. They knew the conviction meant Meserve could end up spending the rest of his life in prison. Smith and Epperson agreed to write letters to the judge urging a lenient sentence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would rather have rehabilitation than punishment,” Smith said. “Some people think it’s impossible with him, but I don’t know. I just have hope that people can change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On July 28, the Meserve family and their supporters filed into the courtroom. Meserve’s mother, sister and wife cried as he stood motionless, awaiting the judge’s sentence. Each read from a prepared statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These charges are extreme and overboard,” said his father, David. “These charges are from an enthusiasm for prosecuting people in the marijuana industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Kailan wants to start an AA group in Petrolia,” said Monica, his wife. “He wants to give back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Terri was not there. An advocate read a statement from the second victim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every morsel of self-confidence has left me,” she read. “Humboldt is my home, and I cannot bring myself to visit my friends or family there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge sentenced Meserve to 23 years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11130107\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11130107\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A handwritten ad solicits work in downtown Garberville. Male trimmers told Reveal they repeatedly were passed up or let go to make room for female workers.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2016/10/AdSolicitsWork-960x641.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A handwritten ad solicits work in downtown Garberville. Male trimmers told Reveal they repeatedly were passed up or let go to make room for female workers. \u003ccite>(Sarah Rice/Reveal)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He did not make a statement in court that day. Through his family, he declined to comment for this story. Terri has since moved out of state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, as the harvest season swings into full gear, a new crop of trimmigrants is streaming north, thumbs out, pointing toward the thickly forested mountains of the Emerald Triangle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Correction:\u003c/strong> An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the pingpong tournament held at Petrolia’s community center. Only Meserve was involved with the setup.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11129842/in-secretive-marijuana-industry-whispers-of-abuse-and-trafficking","authors":["byline_news_11129842"],"programs":["news_6944","news_72"],"series":["news_19101"],"categories":["news_6188","news_8"],"tags":["news_19542","news_685","news_102","news_19907","news_1527","news_17286","news_17041"],"affiliates":["news_1667"],"featImg":"news_11129845","label":"source_news_11129842","isLoading":false,"hasAllInfo":true}},"programsReducer":{"possible":{"id":"possible","title":"Possible","info":"Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.","airtime":"SUN 2pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.possible.fm/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Possible"},"link":"/radio/program/possible","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"}},"1a":{"id":"1a","title":"1A","info":"1A is home to the national conversation. 1A brings on great guests and frames the best debate in ways that make you think, share and engage.","airtime":"MON-THU 11pm-12am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/1a.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://the1a.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/1a","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=1188724250&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/1A-p947376/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510316/podcast.xml"}},"all-things-considered":{"id":"all-things-considered","title":"All Things Considered","info":"Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/all-things-considered"},"american-suburb-podcast":{"id":"american-suburb-podcast","title":"American Suburb: The Podcast","tagline":"The flip side of gentrification, told through one town","info":"Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"13"},"link":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"}},"baycurious":{"id":"baycurious","title":"Bay Curious","tagline":"Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time","info":"KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"\"KQED Bay Curious","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/baycurious","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"4"},"link":"/podcasts/baycurious","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9jYXRlZ29yeS9iYXktY3VyaW91cy1wb2RjYXN0L2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdA","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"}},"bbc-world-service":{"id":"bbc-world-service","title":"BBC World Service","info":"The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service","meta":{"site":"news","source":"BBC World Service"},"link":"/radio/program/bbc-world-service","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/","rss":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"}},"code-switch-life-kit":{"id":"code-switch-life-kit","title":"Code Switch / Life Kit","info":"\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />","airtime":"SUN 9pm-10pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"}},"commonwealth-club":{"id":"commonwealth-club","title":"Commonwealth Club of California Podcast","info":"The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. 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On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. 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For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us","airtime":"SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm","meta":{"site":"news","source":"wnyc"},"link":"/radio/program/on-the-media","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/","rss":"http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"}},"our-body-politic":{"id":"our-body-politic","title":"Our Body Politic","info":"Presented by KQED, KCRW and KPCC, and created and hosted by award-winning journalist Farai Chideya, Our Body Politic is unapologetically centered on reporting on not just how women of color experience the major political events of today, but how they’re impacting those very issues.","airtime":"SAT 6pm-7pm, SUN 1am-2am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Our-Body-Politic-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://our-body-politic.simplecast.com/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kcrw"},"link":"/radio/program/our-body-politic","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-body-politic/id1533069868","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9feGFQaHMxcw","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/4ApAiLT1kV153TttWAmqmc","rss":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/_xaPhs1s","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/Our-Body-Politic-p1369211/"}},"pbs-newshour":{"id":"pbs-newshour","title":"PBS NewsHour","info":"Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.","airtime":"MON-FRI 3pm-4pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"pbs"},"link":"/radio/program/pbs-newshour","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/","rss":"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"}},"perspectives":{"id":"perspectives","title":"Perspectives","tagline":"KQED's series of of daily listener commentaries since 1991","info":"KQED's series of of daily listener commentaries since 1991.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Perspectives-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"/perspectives/","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"kqed","order":"15"},"link":"/perspectives","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"}},"planet-money":{"id":"planet-money","title":"Planet Money","info":"The economy explained. 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The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.","airtime":"SAT 4pm-5pm","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/reveal","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/","rss":"http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"}},"says-you":{"id":"says-you","title":"Says You!","info":"Public radio's game show of bluff and bluster, words and whimsy. 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