Los Angeles Times - 09.08.2019

CALIFORNIA

F RIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2019::L ATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA

B

On Aug. 9, 1969, Jay Sebring

fought for his life as he was fatally at-

tacked on Cielo Drive.

His nephew wants you to know

that his uncle did not remain idle as

his assailants tortured him that sum-

mer midnight in Los Angeles. Nor did

the others who were stabbed and

shot to death at the hands of a group

of coldblooded killers. Ultimately,

seven people lost their lives during a

two-night rampage, and two others

were killed in the weeks before and af-

ter the rampage.

In the 50 years since the Manson

attacks, the story of the tragedies has

been dominated by details of the kill-

ers, cemented as a kind of mythologi-

cal lore. The stories of those whose

lives were cut short are ones less told.

But half a century later, the fam-

ilies of those killed are still fighting

for their loved ones — to ensure they

are not forgotten and to keep the peo-

ple who took their lives behind bars.

Seated inside the Beverly Hills

ANTHONY DiMARIAsays of his uncle, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, seen on monitor, “He created
an industry that never existed. That industry is a nearly $20-billion industry today.”

Gary CoronadoLos Angeles Times

Remembering them

as more than victims

Families of Sharon Tate, others killed by Manson ‘family’

aim to ensure loved ones aren’t forgotten 50 years later

By Colleen Shalby

DEBRA TATE, Sharon Tate’s sister, says of helping violent-crime
victims: “There is ... good that can come out of all this ugliness.”

Gary KazanjianAssociated Press

[SeeFamilies,B2]

A mountain lion crossed
the 405 Freeway in mid-July
—the first time, according to
the National Park Service,
that a GPS-collared cougar
has crossed the freeway near
the Santa Monica Moun-
tains during the course of a
17-year study by the Califor-
nia Department of Fish and
Wildlife and the Park Serv-
ice.
The male mountain lion
known as P-61 crossed the
freeway in the Sepulveda
Pass sometime between 2
and 4 a.m. on July 19. Re-
searchers believe that an-
other uncollared mountain
lion has inhabited the area
between the 405 and 101
freeways for the last five
years.
“It will be interesting to
see if P-61 stays in the area,
whether he decides to chal-

Making

tracks

to the

other side

In a big moment for

wildlife preservation,

a collared cougar

crosses 405 Freeway.

By Colleen Shalby

[SeeMountain lion,B4]

The houses on 39th

Street in Manhattan Beach

were once painted a neutral

palette of tans, whites and

grays, complemented by the

adventurous splash of light

yellow or blue. But not now:

One of the homes is sporting

a bright paint job decorated

with two giant emojis.

Neighbors say it’s retri-

bution in a property dispute

that has turned into a battle

with the city.

Frustrated homeowners

and renters from the El

Porto neighborhood raised

their concerns at a City

Council meeting Tuesday

night. The meeting marked

the latest chapter in a saga

that began in May when

neighbors reported the

home’s owner, Kathryn

Kidd, to the city for using the

property for short-term

rentals, such as Airbnb,

which is illegal in Manhattan

Beach. After Kidd was fined

for violating the city’s rental

laws, the property was

painted bubble-gum pink

with yellow emojis, as first

reported by Easy Reader

News.

The mocking nature of

the paint job, neighbors say,

is in the emojis. An emoji on

the duplex’s top floor shows

one smiling face with its

tongue sticking out and eyes

KATHRYN KIDD’Sneighbors reported her for using her property for illegal

short-term rentals. She paid a $4,000 fine — then gave the home a new paint job.

Kent NishimuraLos Angeles Times

She’s getting her face time

In Manhattan house feud, woman replies with emojis

By Alexa Díaz

[SeeHouse,B5]

Authorities seek

public’s help in

kidnapping case

Los Angeles County

officials urge potential

witnesses to come

forward in search for

Monrovia woman. B

Streetcar plan is

rolling into view

Feasibility study looks

at Glendale line’s

potential route,

ridership, cost and

traffic impacts. B

Lottery.........................B

The Board of Supervi-

sors might cancel a $1.7-bil-

lioncontract to replace the

dungeon-like Men’s Central

Jail downtown amid growing

unease about whether Los

Angeles County’s incarcera-

tion policy focuses enough

attention on mental health

treatment.

County supervisors are

expected to vote next week

on whether to end the con-

tract with McCarthy Build-

ing Cos. and start fresh on a

plan for replacing the anti-

quated jail — a major policy

change after months of

grappling with the project’s

direction.

If they walk away from

the contract, the supervi-

sors were also expected to

order a plan for how best to

design and build a facility

or network of facilities

specifically designed to

meet the county’s growing

need for mental health serv-

ices.

“The taxpayers, our resi-

dents and morality dictates

that the goals of this project

include addressing the men-

tal and physical health

needs of our jail population,

many of whom can be safely

diverted to community-

based treatment facilities,

before we move forward with

building an expensive new

jail at a size that is possibly

unnecessary,” said Supervi-

sor Hilda Solis, who cowrote

the motion with Supervisor

Sheila Kuehl.

Jail reform activists

praised the supervisors for

proposing a fresh start, say-

ing the policy shift is evi-

dence that the county’s lead-

ers appear ready to embrace

fully a more decentralized

and rehabilitative approach

to treating the thousands of

people who encounter the

justice system each year —

even if the ultimate product

remains uncertain.

L.A. County

may replace

$1.7-billion

jail project

PATRISSE CULLORSof Reform L.A. urges county

officials Thursday to scrap a contract for a jail facility.

Marcus YamLos Angeles Times

Supervisors consider

proposal for different

facility that would put

a greater emphasis on

mental health issues.

By Matt Stiles

[SeeContract,B6]

Federal officials pulled

veterans from a Van Nuys as-

sisted living home after find-

ing that the facility had re-

ported a social worker visit-

ing a veteran who had been

dead for four days, accord-

ing to a report released

Thursday.

The investigation by the

U.S. Department of Veter-

ans Affairs also found seri-

ous medication errors at the

California Villa home. A 100-

year-old veteran with sepsis

was denied prescribed anti-

biotics because they were

“not covered by Medicare”

and ended up hospitalized a

second time, the report said.

Another veteran received

a double dose of medication

and a third was denied pre-

scription drugs and charged

$5 a meal because he pre-

ferred eating in his room

rather than the cafeteria.

Authorities from Wash-

ington, D.C., blamed the

VA’s Greater Los Angeles

Healthcare System for fail-

ing to investigate and ad-

dress “serious residential

care concerns” at the facility,

but added that program ad-

ministrators had not re-

ported the problems to up-

per management.

The healthcare system

had California Villa on an ap-

proved list, and helped place

veterans there, but sus-

pended referrals and relo-

cated most of their clients

during the investigation in

2018.

The investigation was ini-

tiated by the U.S. Special

Counsel based on whistle-

blower complaints.

“I am shocked that such

lax oversight of facilities pro-

viding critical care for vul-

nerable veterans ever oc-

curred,” Special Counsel

Henry J. Kerner said in a let-

ter Thursday to the White

House.

The investigation find-

ings were also relayed to con-

gressional oversight com-

mittees.

The California Depart-

ment of Social Services had

sought to revoke California

VA probe finds

‘serious’ issues

at care home

Assisted living facility

in Van Nuys botched

drugs, misidentified

patients, report says.

By Gale Holland

[SeeVeterans,B4]