CALIFORNIA
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA
B
tors said they were trying to
be good parents. Huffman
expressed deep regrets for
her actions, adding she has
disgraced herself and be-
trayed her daughter.
Perhaps because of her
acting fame, perhaps be-
cause she had dispensed
folksy advice on mother-
hood from her blog, Huff-
man became a face of an ad-
missions scandal that burst
into view six months ago,
when federal prosecutors in
Massachusetts alleged
wealthy parents had for
years paid staggering sums
to fix their children’s college
entrance exams and slip
them into elite universities
as phony athletes.
Yet, until Friday, Huff-
man had said little about
why she paid a college ad-
missions consultant $15,000
to rig her daughter’s SAT
score, leaving the public to
wonder: Why would a
mother who could offer her
children everything resort to
fraud to get them ahead?
In her letter, Huffman
said she had panicked, hav-What Felicity Huffman
now calls the worst decision
of her life came to a head at
6 a.m. March 12, when six
federal agents showed up at
the door of her Hollywood
Hills home, guns drawn, to
march the actress, in hand-
cuffs, out of the realm of the
beloved and into the realm of
the scorned.
Letters that Huffman
and her husband, William H.
Macy, wrote to the judge who
will sentence her this week
offer the most detailed ex-
planation to date about how
the couple got involved in
the scandal and how they
are grappling with Huff-
man’s extraordinary fall
from grace.
Both award-winning ac-‘My desperation to
be a good mother’
In letters to a judge,
Felicity Huffman and
husband tell how they
ended up in college
admissions scandal.
By Matthew Ormseth[SeeHuffman,B7]Battles over where to
build housing or shelters for
homeless people are nothing
new at Los Angeles City
Hall, which has witnessed an
uproar over such plans from
Koreatown to Venice.
But the latest fight is
poised to split the City
Council itself, as one coun-
cilman promotes a plan that
another is denouncing as
“Trumpian.”
The dispute centers on a
city lot in Echo Park that is
being leased by a nonprofit,
El Centro del Pueblo, for rec-
reational space, including
basketball and handball
courts. The lot sits alongside
the group’s Echo Park build-
ing, where it provides youth
and family services aimed at
preventing gang violence.
Councilman Mitch
O’Farrell, who represents
Homeless housing vs. a playground
L.A. councilmen
argue over replacing
recreational space
with affordable units.
By Emily Alpert Reyes
“I DON’T think it’s very smart to add an asset to a community by removing an-
other asset,” said El Centro del Pueblo’s Luis Campos, at the Echo Park site.Irfan KhanLos Angeles Times[SeeEcho Park,B8]The passengers on the Conception dive boat ended
their second day in the waters off the California coast
with a nighttime swim, exploring a lush, watery world
populated with coral and kelp forests.
In the hours after the dive, they went below deck on
the 75-foot charter boat, retiring to narrow wooden bunk
beds covered with green curtains.
When a massive fire broke out on board around
3 a.m. Monday, quickly engulfing the boat, five crewmembers who were above deck escaped by jumping
overboard.
The passengers and one crew member who were
below deck were trapped, with the only two exits appar-
ently blocked by flames. The boat sank four hours
later.
The catastrophe killed 34 people. After a grueling,
multi-day search, officials said they had recovered all
but one body. The victims are believed to have died of
smoke inhalation, officials said.
Santa Barbara County officials have publicly identi-
fied nine of the dead. Family members, friends and em-ployers have confirmed the deaths of 22 others. Three re-
main unidentified.
An effort to confirm the identity of the victims
through a DNA analysis tool has required taking cheek
swab samples from family members as far away as Japan
and Singapore.
The victims were athletes, immigrants, CEOs and
students. Many were passionate about science, explor-
ing and shaping the world as marine biologists, nature
photographers and teachers. All were united by their
love of adventure and spirit of exploration.
These are their stories:FIRE CHIEFMark Hartwig, left, Sheriff Bill Brown and Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester present a wreath during Friday’s vigil in Santa Barbara.Luis SincoLos Angeles TimesVictims of Conception boat fire
loved adventure and exploration
‘He went through life with joy.
... We are a small community.
It’s a huge loss for us.’
— Michael Pierce, on Neal BaltzBy Laura J. Nelson, Colleen Shalby,
Brittny Mejia and Matthew Ormseth‘The only sense of comfort
right now is knowing she passed
doing what she loved.’
— Rob Kurtz, on Allie Kurtz‘There was no escaping their
impact. If they were in your
lives, they were in your lives.’
— Josh Baker, on Andrew Fritz and Adrian Dahood-Fritz[SeeVictims,B4]