Panorama City man convicted for Jan. 6 breach of U.S. Capitol

By City News Service By City News Service

The motion approved by the board specifies that workers who are provided with the fully paid benefits must not have their wages reduced as a result. It also requires contractors to abide by a "labor peace agreement," preventing them from interfering with union organizing, while workers must not engage in work stoppages.

Solis spoke appreciatively of the efforts of such workers -- about 2,000 at county-run hospitals -- during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said "this was when these people literally laid their lives on the line ... while they were having a hard time feeding their families."

She also spoke admiringly of the diversity of the work force, which includes many "people of color," adding that providing health benefits will "bring many of them peace of mind."

Supervisor Holly Mitchell said she generally approved of the measure, but expressed concern about its long-term financial impact on the county, cautioning that the county faces an uncertain budgetary future, including a possible billiondollar shortfall from liability settlements.

"Factors like that make it hard for me to sleep at night," she said.

Solis said there might be some net savings to the county, since the newly medically benefited workers would cease to be a fiscal burden on indigent county emergency medical services.

ASan Fernando Valley man faces sentencing in July for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Edward Badalian, 28, of Panorama City, was convicted in federal court in the District of Columbia of conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and entering and remaining in a restricted building following a non-jury trial last month. The defendant remains on pretrial release until sentencing on July 21, according to federal prosecutors.

Badalian was charged in a superseding indictment returned in a case initially filed in March 2021 against Daniel Rodriguez, 40, of Fontana. Rodriguez was indicted at that time on charges including the assault of a Metropolitan Police Department officer. The superseding indictment adds a conspiracy charge. In February, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to four felonies, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, in the fall of 2020, Badalian, Rodriguez and others created a Telegram group chat, called the "Patriots 45 MAGA Gang," and used it as a platform to advocate violence against certain groups and individuals that either supported the 2020 presidential election results, supported what the group perceived as liberal, or communist ideologies, or held positions of authority in government.

The group's activities included collecting weapons and tactical gear to bring to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, storming past barricades to gain unlawful access to the Capitol, and coordinating activities before, during, and after the riot, court papers show.

The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to stop, delay, and hinder Congress' certification of the Electoral College vote that day.

In the 26 months since Jan. 6, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

LA County to pursue incentives to attract mental health practitioners

By City News Service

With the county struggling to hire mental-health practitioners to serve as alternative responders to calls that would otherwise be answered by armed law enforcement, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday instructed its staff to offer a wide range of incentives in hopes of attracting more job applicants.

"L.A. County has been working for the past few years to create a system where someone experiencing a mental health crisis gets the response they need when and where they need it," board Chair Janice Hahn said. "Now we find ourselves in a situation where we have the infrastructure and funds in place, but we are having a hard time filling these mental health worker positions.

"These are impactful, lifechanging jobs, but they are also difficult jobs, and we are competing with clinic positions and teleworking."

Hahn and Supervisor Kathryn Barger introduced the motion that was approved by the board Tuesday, instructing the director of Mental

Health, CEO and director of Personnel to establish a pilot program to incentivize both the hiring and retaining fieldbased mental-health workers.

Those workers serve on various alternative-response programs, including Psychiatric Mobile Response Teams, Mobile Crisis Outreach Teams, Mental Evaluation Teams, School Threat Assessment Response Team, and similar crucial service units.

The motion noted that the county "has had a very difficult time filling the roles for the mobile crisis teams," despite some hiring incentives already in place, such as relaxed background checks, bonuses for field-based positions and a student loanforgiveness program.

The motion approved Tuesday calls on county officials consider additional incentives such as signing bonuses, extending and increasing existing bonuses, offering shift differential pay, a sabbatical program, more flexible schedules for field workers and stipends for students interested in psych technician certificates.