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SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW: Ed Barton
Where he lives: Near McKinley and Greenwood avenues, Sanger
Occupation, age: Marriage and family counselor (also a retired teacher and student assistance counselor), 75
Family: He has been married to Carole for 49 years. They have four children: Suzanne Butts, Jeanette Machoian, Amy Chitwood and Ned Barton; and seven grandchildren: Kiera Chitwood, Erin Chitwood, Ian Chitwood, Andrew Machoian, Joel Machoian, Nathan Machoian and Laurel Machoian
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Statewide Victim Notification System to Include State Prisons, Court Appearance Information
Later this year, victims of crime will be able to receive additional notifications regarding offenders in state prison and court appearances for offenders through the PA SAVIN system, according to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, or PCCD.
PA SAVIN is a free, confidential and automated service that helps victims of crime, their family members, or any concerned citizen to track the custody status of an offender. It currently covers only inmates housed in certain county jails. Currently, 58 of 63 counties with jails have implemented PA SAVIN, with Bedford County scheduled to join on July 1.
"These notification extensions will give victims of crime further rights, regardless of where the offender is located," said PCCD Chairman Walter M. Phillips Jr. "These updates will allow ensure that crime victims, law enforcement and victim service providers are given vital and timely information of court appearances of offenders in a standardized, consistent manner statewide."
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Bill would help revamp our state's failing probation system
What happens to the 200,000 people who are convicted of felonies in California each year? About 40,000 a year go directly to our overcrowded prison system.
But 160,000 are sentenced to probation and a short time in county jail or to probation alone, mostly for drug offenses. This means they are supervised by a probation officer in their home communities and must meet conditions, such as holding a job, doing community service, paying restitution to victims and participating in drug or alcohol programs.
That probation system is under serious strain, and many offenders get lost in it. The result: 40% of new prison admissions are offenders who have failed on felony probation at the local level.
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California Real Estate Commissioner Announces Issuance of Fraud Warning
The California Real Estate Commissioner, Jeff Davi, announced today the issuance of a Consumer Alert by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) warning consumers about loan modification scams and informing consumers of what they can do to protect themselves. The alert has been posted on DRE’s Web site at: http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/FraudWarningsCaDRE03_2009.pdf and is also available in Spanish.
“With so many people struggling to stay in their homes, foreclosure rescue scams have risen dramatically,” DRE Commissioner Jeff Davi said. “The Consumer Alert will educate consumers and help homeowners avoid becoming victims to loan modification scams.”
With new state and federal programs, as well as new laws and regulations in place, more and more loans are being successfully modified to keep homeowners in their homes. Earlier this week, the California Department of Corporations released the results of its first quarter survey of mortgage servicers, which showed that there have been more modifications
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Man gets year in jail in elder abuse case
A 63-year-old Fresno man was sentenced Friday to a year in jail after pleading no contest to elder abuse in connection with the death of his mother, who was covered with bed sores, had a gangrenous toe and weighed 69 pounds when she died in March.
Angel Gutierrez said in Fresno County Superior Court that he was sorry for neglecting his 91-year-old mother, Anita Soto Gutierrez. "I did the best I could," he said.
But deputy district attorney Tim Donovan said Gutierrez did nothing to help his mother. "She died a slow, painful death," Donovan said. "He stripped her of her dignity."
Where he lives: Near Bethel and Shields avenues
Occupation, age: Director and full-time faculty member for the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies at Fresno Pacific University, 62
Family: He has been married to Roxanne for 40 years. They have two children, Ryan, 34, and Kevin, 32, and a grandson, Samuel, 16 months.
Why should we know him? Claassen helped found the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program in 1982 and now serves as a volunteer mediator. The nonprofit program brings victims and offenders together on a voluntary basis to provide reconciliation and healing; it has handled about 7,000 cases, ranging from property offenses to battery.
"It does a lot for the victim when the acknowledgment of the wrong is completely accepted, and there's a clear plan for the future to prevent it from happening again," Claassen says.
Claassen also helped start Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) last September. He oversees the program, which is funded by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and focuses on using support groups to help high-risk sex offenders who are on parole.
Claassen also does volunteer work at Mennonite Community Church and donates time to various programs at Fresno Pacific University.
What are some organizations he belongs to? Mennonite Community Church, The Association for Conflict Resolution, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
What are his hobbies? Sharing coffee and conversation at Starbucks each afternoon with his wife, visiting his grandson, co-writing a book, "Discipline That Restores," with his wife, reading, golf
What would he like to share with others? "The overall vision is this kind of peace where we are in right relationships; it makes life far less stressful."
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