On
August 30, Chelsea’s Law—a set of measures targeting the worst sexual
predators in an effort to prevent future tragedies
like those that
befell the King, Dubois, and many other families—reached final passage in the state legislature.
Its sponsor, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego), introduced the bill in April
in partnership with Brent and Kelly King, parents
of the slain
17-year-old Poway girl after whom it was named.
I spoke with
Assemblyman Fletcher in the wake of Chelsea’s Law’s passage:read more »
The recent attempts at granting parents the ability
to seal autopsy
reports of murdered children are almost complete. Recently
passed by the
Senate and Assembly, Senate Bill 5 is now only a signature away from
victory. The public and officials alike are awaiting
decision by
Governor Schwarzenegger, who has yet to openly take
a stance on the
issue. Senate Bill 5, which was sponsored by San Diego County District
Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, was inspired by the tragic
murders of the San
Diego teens Chelsea King and Amber Dubois.read more »
SACRAMENTO — Legislation that would allow parents to seal autopsy
reports on their murdered children is now pending before
the governor.San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis
sponsored the measure, frustrated by the possibility
she could be forced
to reveal gruesome details and photos from the reports
on the killings
of teenagers Chelsea King of Poway and Amber Dubois of Escondido.
Senate Bill 5 would provide parents, with some exemptions, the right
to seal such reports from public view. Some media representatives
and
open-government advocates protested, saying the law could
be used to
hide government bungling or possibly family involvement
in murdersread more »
A bill to overhaul how California punishes sex offenders
was approved
unanimously by the state Senate on Tuesday, a rare
bipartisan
endorsement of a crime bill designed to put state resources
into
treatment and punish criminals most likely to strike
again. read more »
Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, appearing on KUSI's Good
Morning San Diego
program Wednesday morning, lauded the passage of Chelsea's
Law and said
proper implementation will be the key to its success. "You can
have all the laws in the world," Fletcher said, "but
if someone's not
doing oversight to make sure they're enforced... it's
pointless." Fletcher
said the bill represented a community effort. "There
was something
special here. There was a compelling story, and then
there was Brent
and Kelly. San Diego was 100 percent behind this."read more »
Politicians were putting out a lot of fires Saturday
— just not the figurative kind they’re used to.These were real — though safely controlled — fires. The officials wore firefighting gear and jumped out
of fire trucks
and scrambled up ladders and lugged hoses and rushed
into burning
buildings.read more »
SACRAMENTO — Now just two steps away
from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk, Chelsea’s Law could transform
California’s approach to sex offenders through a balance of longer
sentences, tougher parole conditions and targeted treatment.“We’ve stayed focused on the worst of the worst,” said Brent King,
father of the slain Poway teenager whose name on the
bill serves as a
lasting memorial.read more »
After the kamikazes and the chaos, after Iwo Jima and
Nagasaki and the Battle of Midway, it was finally over.Emily Drake, Jerry Kranz and a thinning number of other
San Diegans
can still express the spirit of the day, Aug. 14, 1945, when Japan
surrendered to the United States and World War II ended.read more »
California Lawmakers to Take Up Chelsea's LawFew political issues are as difficult to tackle as
laws dealing with California's ever-growing number of convicted sex offenders.For years, experts on the issue have complained that
state laws were determined more by sound-bite politics than policies that improve public safety
and protect children. Elected leaders, wary of accusations
that they were being soft on sexual predators, have
historically stayed clear of reforming such laws, except
to make them harsher.read more »
Local experts say document leaks are dicey, not disastrousBY STEVE SCHMIDT, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERJEANETTE STEELE, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER San Diego military veterans and political affairs experts
saw no bombshells in the classified Afghan war documents
leaked Sunday, but they said the disclosure could harm
the nation’s ability to gather the intelligence needed to keep
its troops ahead of the enemy.read more »
