Monthly Archives: March 2020

By Crescenzo VellucciVanguard Sacramento Bureau Chief

SACRAMENTO (2:11 p.m., Wednesday/March 18, 2020) Information obtained exclusively by the VANGUARD at this hour indicates that because of the coronavirus threat the Sacramento County Jail is now releasing scores of inmates and that all Sacramento County law enforcement officers are authorized to cite and release defendants on most misdemeanor warrants.

The orders are causing some havoc for defense counsel, who are attempting to contact their clients with this information, according to sources.

BY ORDER OF THE COURT AND EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, the Sacramento County Sheriff s Department is authorized to grant accelerated release of inmates. Releases can be no more than 30 (thirty) actual days early of an inmates sentence. This order includes misdemeanors and felonies.(this) shall remain in effect until May 31, 2020, reads one of the orders signed by Sacramento County Superior Court Presiding Judge Russell L. Hom.

Another order grants the Sheriffs Department permission to immediately grant the release of 46 misdemeanor inmates with a No OR and/or PC 853.6 condition as specifiednot to appear before June 1, 2020.

Yet a third order, good until May 31, 2020, immediately authorizes all law enforcement officersto cite and release defendants on misdemeanor warrants pursuant to Penal Code Section 853.6. This order includes misdemeanor warrants indicating NO O/R and/or NO 853.6 release comments. This order does not include arrests for misdemeanor warrants pursuant to PC 853.6(a)(2 PC 853.6(a)(3) or PC 853.6(i).

A statement released by the Sacramento Superior Court states:

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared a world pandemic and the federal government has declared a national state of emergencyDue to the increasing risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity for additional and significant measures to protect the health and safety of our community, including court personnel, court operations shall be reduced to critical proceedings only as set forth in the General Order of the Presiding Judge, dated March 17, 2020.

The court shall continue to handle critical proceedings occurring in criminal, general civil, family, probate, juvenile delinquency and dependency and other identified areas. Judicial officers and minimum court staff required to perform critical functions shall continue to work. All other cases, including any other scheduled hearings and matters are continued to dates to be determined.

Our decision to cease court operations except those deemed critical has not been made lightly. We have made this decision with due consideration to the increasing measures necessary to protect the health and safety of our community and court personnel, as well as the importance for all courts to ensure access to justice, protect due process, and provide a forum for the orderly resolution of disputes under law.

We remain committed to serving the people of Sacramento County and through the uninterrupted handling of critical proceedings, the court will continue to serve the most immediate needs of the most vulnerable in our community including the elderly, children, victims of domestic violence, those whose life and liberty are at stake. We look forward to restoring our Court to full operational status as soon as possible.

StandingOrder_AcceleratedRelease1

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Exclusive: Court Authorizes Sacramento Jail Inmate Releases, and Police to Not Jail Some Arrestees - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

ONCE again, death and massive destruction of property came calling in Lagos in the morning hours of Sunday, March 15, 2020 when an explosion with an impact of epic proportions tore through Abule-Ado district in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area.

About 25 people lost their lives with scores more injured, while over 50 houses and vehicles were either levelled or badly damaged.

That was the second major tragedy to visit the state this year. Abule Egba area had also on January 20, 2020 suffered an explosion which killed at least two people, with several houses and dozens of cars destroyed.

The above incidents were linked to pipeline explosions. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had only hours after the Abule Ado explosion, said it occurred after a truck hit some gas cylinders in a gas processing plant located near the Corporations 2B pipeline right of way.

Speculations are, however, rife that there could be more insidious things going on. For instance, the scale and character of the Abule Ado blast, some opine, is reminiscent of the impact of a high-powered military-level ordnance.

According to Akinbode Oluwafemi, the Deputy Executive Director of the Environmental Rights Agenda/Friends of the Earth, ERA/FoEN: There is something suspiciously different about this explosion. The scale of destruction is nothing like any of the pipeline explosions we have monitored and documented for several decades.

The Sunday incidents scale of destruction could only be likened to military grade explosions or aerial bombardments. We cant treat this casually as an accident caused by a truck.

We are reassured that the Lagos State Government is spearheading an investigation of this sad incident, with the Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat in charge. The panel has two weeks to unravel the mystery.

Though we commend this step, we prefer a forensic investigation which will go beyond merely sampling the opinions of eyewitnesses. We need to know if these are innocuous accidents or the nations economic capital is under security threat.

The N2 billion fund set up by the State Government is a step in the right direction. We commend Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for releasing N250 million into this fund and urge the Federal Government and all the state governments and public-spirited individuals to support it to assist the victims.

The greater work, however, lies in two directions. Number one is to ascertain the real causes of these pipeline blasts.

The second is to summon the political will to permanently keep people safe from pipeline accidents. This will definitely entail demolishing all structures situated within the pipeline and power line rights of way.

More importantly, we must address the intense criminality that is associated with our oil pipeline networks. These are major sources of danger to our people.

VANGUARD

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Unravelling the Abule Ado blast - Vanguard

The city council will hold a special meeting in which the council will likely to declare a local emergency. Staff notes, The speed at which COVID-19 is spreading across the world and regionally is unprecedented in modern times. As a result, guidelines are not only changing rapidlysome changed several times in a single day.

As a result, Local mitigation decisions must be made near instantaneously with changing health and safety conditions.

This requires the City take steps now to allow the City Manager, as the Director of Emergency Services, to take any actions necessary to address or mitigate impacts COVID-19 may have on City operations and services. It also allows the City Council to approve emergency regulations to prevent the spread of illness should that become necessary. Finally, it allows the City to take advantage of State and federal funding and other resources as necessary to address issues within Davis.

On Monday, huge swaths of northern California have been ordered to shelter in place starting at midnight on Monday night.

These counties include: San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, and Santa Cruz counties.

This isnt a time for half measures, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said on Monday. History will not forgive us for waiting an hour longer.

Indeed, Santa Clara has become one of the epicenters of the pandemic with at least three deaths and dozens of cases. This is not the same as the imposition of martial law where the National Guard would be sent out. Notably, grocery stores, banks, gas stations, and pharmacies, as well as police and fire departments, will stay open.

You can even take your dog for a walk, said Matt Willis, the health officer of Marin County. We are not expecting empty streets. Social distancing does not mean disconnecting from each other.

But they warn that non-essential travel, including on foot, scooter, bicycle, car or public transportation, as well as any gatherings of any size, are banned.

The key hereslowing the spread of the virus is urgent in order to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.

Some individuals who contract the COVID-19 virus have no symptoms or have mild symptoms, which means they may not be aware they carry the virus, the order said. Because even people without symptoms can transmit the disease, and because evidence shows the disease is easily spread, gatherings can result in preventable transmission of the virus.

One of my questions was why not simply attempt to test everyonein part because people without symptoms can transmit the disease.

I asked former Davis Mayor Robb Davis that question and he said, I dont think there is such a thing as blanket testing. He noted even South Korea is not doing that.

He said, I AM in favor of providing testing for those with a given set of symptoms.At this point it is a numbers game: enough kits need to be available.If people have influenza like illness, I think they should be eligible for a test and be able to easily get one. That would help them self-isolate more effectively and catch those at greatest risk. I am in favor of that type of aggressive testing.

Is the federal government doing enough at this point?

Robb Davis said that we expect that each level of government will operate to mitigate the crisis based on its own unique role. For example, macroeconomic issues are not the purview of local governmentobviously. But the same holds for sick leave, unemployment insurance, etc. For the most part states and local governments cannot provide this for citizens. We expect the federal government to deal with large scale infrastructure needs, and county health agencies to provide guidance to local businesses on safety precautions.

He added that this goes back to the Federal Governments responsibilities.They are not meeting them in my viewBut that is because we have a fractured health care system.We do not have a national health system.

How long can we expect to live like thisin separation from friends and the community?

Experts dont know.

What we hear: Its going to get worse before it gets better.

As the Boston Globe notes: No, its not reassuring. But thats the message from epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and infectious disease doctors, who have been sounding the alarm for weeks about the growing threat of the novel coronavirus and the dire consequences the United States will undoubtedly face if the spread of the disease, Covid-19, is not aggressively tamed.

This virus will not be conquered until we have a vaccineperiod. Its just so unstoppable, said Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. Were in this tough spot for the long haul.

And optimism isnt there eitherwith the belief being that, despite prioritization of efforts to develop a vaccine, it will take at least a year, probably closer to 18 months.

So how long will we live like this?

Unfortunately, the answer is not one most people want to hear: We dont know, said Bill Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology at Harvards Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics. Were not trying to come up with long-term plans to stop the pandemic. What we are doing now is trying to stop it from destroying us.

Furthermore, The answer also depends on how we respond over the next few days, said Samuel Scarpino, an assistant professor at Northeastern Universitys Network Science Institute, and if we increase the amount of social distancing, remote work, school closures, et cetera, or blithely ignore the advice of public health officials

Some warn that if the US goes the way of Italy, within two weeks there would be 150,000 confirmed cases and about 12,000 deadthat is adjusting for population.

Can we avoid that with these drastic measures? Maybe.

The goal as we have heard it many times over is to flatten the curve through social distancing. It was just a week ago I was warning the consequences of it. On the other hand, the consequence of not doing this is hundreds of millions infected and millions dead.

The challenge right now is we dont really have anything to combat the disease, said Natalie Dean, an assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Floridas Emerging Pathogens Institute. Certainly, if we can find a highly effective therapeuticsomething that reduces mortality or something that reduces the severity of illnessthat would be very valuable. And that might give us some reassurance in relaxing some of these strategies.

For now, were buying ourselves time for a vaccine to be evaluated, manufactured, and deployed, Dean added. It is possible that this will be a new way of life for a stretch thats longer than any of us would like.

Ouch.

David M. Greenwald reporting

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Commentary: City to Declare Emergency as Region Is Sheltering in Place - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

Accuses FG of indiscriminate deductions,non payment of members on sabbatical leave, othersBy Joseph Erunke

ABUJALECTURERS in the nations Colleges of Education have accused the federal government of engaging in indiscriminate deductions of their salaries following their enrollment in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System,IPPS.

Besides,the lecturers said even as discussion with the IPPS on some issues which it feared in the scheme were yet to be concluded, government had stopped payment of members on sabbatical leave, deduction of salaries for the National Housing Fund, and non inclusion inthe Peculiar Allowances of the staff of the subsector, especially the Peculiar Earned Academic Allowance,PEAA.

The lecturers speaking in a statement through their umbrella union, College of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU,also said,Whereas FGN deducted its own statutory deductions, the non-statutory deduction of staff necessary for their well-being, especially Staff Cooperative Society contributions were not made.

To this end,they have in the statement released to the media, Sunday,through the President of COEASU,Nuhu Ogirima,threatened disruption of activities in the nations colleges of education.

It said the February salary paid by the federal government did not include the Peculiar Allowances of the staff of the subsector, especially the Peculiar Earned Academic Allowance (PEAA), adding that,Also not paid are staff on sabbatical leave. In addition, deductions were effected on all staff salary, indiscriminately, for the National Housing Fund (NHF), a voluntary scheme to which most staff did not subscribe.

The Union shall reconvene the Expanded National Executive Council meeting to deliberate on further necessary action on IPPIS and other lingering issues of industrial concern, including but not limited to the inconclusive renegotiation, the unfulfilled N15bn Needs Assessment palliative and the sum of N2.5bn unpaid arrears of Peculiar Allowances, the statement said.

COEASU noted that,Sadly, pension and the imposed obnoxious tax deductions were effected on gross earning of staff, which included non-taxable Allowances) as against the basic salary on which such deductions ought to be effected.

It added that:From the information available, it is quite evident that the peculiarities of the Colleges of Education subsector, which the stakeholders meetings with IPPIS office, prior to its implementation, harped on as the basis of rejection of the obnoxious pay platform, have not been reflected.

According to the union, the action of government was a breach of trust,saying the action was unacceptable to it.

The statement read in full:The attention of the National Secretariat has been drawn to the payment of February 2020 salary to staff of the Federal Colleges of Education by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).

From the information available, it is quite evident that the peculiarities of the Colleges of Education subsector, which the stakeholders meetings with IPPIS office, prior to its implementation, harped on as the basis of rejection of the obnoxious pay platform, have not been reflected.

For the avoidance of doubt, the February salary paid by FGN did not include the Peculiar Allowances of the staff of the subsector, especially the Peculiar Earned Academic Allowance (PEAA).

Also not paid are staff on Sabbatical Leave. In addition, deductions were effected on all staff salary, indiscriminately, for the National Housing Fund (NHF), a voluntary scheme to which most staff did not subscribe.

Whereas FGN deducted its own statutory deductions, the non-statutory deduction of staff necessary for their well-being, especially Staff Cooperative Society contributions were not made.

Sadly, pension and the imposed obnoxious tax deductions were effected on gross earning of staff, which included non-taxable Allowances) as against the basic salary on which such deductions ought to be effected.

The Union views this as a serious breach of trust and,therefore, considers Federal Government of Nigeria betrayal not acceptable.

The impunity with which FGN has engendered this anomaly goes to further heighten our fears and reinforces our concern over the wanton neglect of the Colleges of Education subsector by successive administrations peaked with the current government.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Union, while reiterating the initial worries on the concern over the use of IPPIS in COE system, as a tertiary institution, calls on FGN, OAGF in particular, to, matter of urgent concern, capable of disrupting the smooth running of the Colleges of Education,take urgent steps to ameliorate the situation.

The Union shall reconvene the Expanded National Executive Council meeting to deliberate on further necessary action on IPPIS and other lingering issues of industrial concern, including but not limited to the inconclusive renegotiation, the unfulfilled N15bn Needs Assessment palliative and the sum of N2.5bn unpaid arrears of Peculiar Allowances.

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IPPS: COEASU threatens industrial action - Vanguard

FG drops petrol priceMarketers renew call for subsidy removalBy Prince Okafor & Ediri Ejoh

MORE trouble looms for the Federal Governments 2020 Budget as oil price yesterday dipped further on the global economic tension driven by Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is also fuelled by Saudi Arabia and Russia oil price war.

Nigerias premium Bonny Light tumbled to $28.72, which showed a 2.18 percent decline from $29 on Monday.

At current price, the 2020 budget revenue estimate put at N2.64 trillion based on $57 per barrel has lost N1.3 trillion, about 49.6 percent loss.

Similarly, Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) tumbled to $28.13 and $23.71, which showed 7.50 percent and 13.25 percent decline respectively from $30.79 and $26.92 on Monday.

Meanwhile, The Federal government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, MPR, has dropped the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popularly known as petrol to N125 per litre, from N145 approved template in 2015.

Crude prices have dropped to its lowest levels in more than 17 years.

According to the Global Head of Currency Strategy & Market Research at FXTM, Jameel Ahmad, The Oil price has smashed through its previous 2016 support level around $27 and is now valued below $25 for the first time since at least 2003. Investor sentiment is in such a state of freefall that it is possible that Oil can fall to $20 within hours, if not by the end of this week.

Meanwhile, a statement signed by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, said: The drop in crude oil has lowered the expected open market price of imported petrol below the official pump price of N145 per litre.

Therefore Mr. President has approved that Nigerians should benefit from the reduction in the price of PMS which is a direct effect of the crash in global crude oil prices.

Because of this situation, based on the price modulation template approved in 2015, the federal government is directing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC to reduce the Ex-Coastal and Ex-Depot prices of PMS to reflect current market realities.

But the Major oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, said that the federal government should consider removing subsidy on petroleum products riding on the back of the current low price of oil in the global market.

In a statement sent to Vanguard, Chairman of MOMAN, Mr. Tunji Oyebanji, stated that the N450 billion set aside by the government for subsidy in the 2020 budget would not add value to the nations downstream sector and the lives of Nigerians.

He, therefore, advised government to use the amount to develop other sectors in order to impact positively on Nigerian economy.

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COVID-19: Oil price dips further to $28 - Vanguard

On Jan. 21, the first known case of coronavirus in the United States was discovered in Washington state. By March 13, the NBA, NHL, PGA, NFL, XFL, MLS, NCAA, FIFA and several other organizations had all delayed or canceled games and events, with many leagues suspending their seasons indefinitely as a precautionary response to the spread of the coronavirus.

The rapid rate at which these developments have transpired and progressed across sports is something few, if any, anticipated. A week ago, the idea of professional sporting events being played without fans seemed laughable. But with new information and policy changes emerging nearly every hour, what comes next is unknown.

What would have seemed an impossibility just a few days ago is now a reality, and it has raised a number of questions regarding the future of sports.

What happens to those senior athletes who were in the middle of or entering into their final season of collegiate sports? For players who have spent days, months and years dedicating themselves to their sport and the chance of making a championship runonly to have it taken away at the last momentis there anything that can be done to amend this lost opportunity?

For senior Sabrina Ionescu, point guard for the University of Oregon womens basketball team and potential number one overall pick in next years WNBA draft, this final season was all about unfinished business. The NCAA championship that eluded Ionescu through the teams first three seasons was within reach as they prepared for the 2020 NCAA tournament.

Now, for Ionescu, along with so many other seniors whose prolific college careers have been cut short, the unfinished business will remain just thatunfinished.

And what about the senior athletes who never even had the chance for their final season to begin? With the NCAA canceling all winter and spring championship competition, and many athletic conferencesincluding the Big Sky conferenceelecting to suspend all spring sports indefinitely, what can be done for the senior athletes whose seasons ended before they ever began?

University of Connecticut womens basketball coach Geno Auriemma joined a growing number of voices advocating for college seniors to be granted an additional year of athletic eligibility in order to make up for the seasons that have been cut short or canceled. The NCAA announced on March 13 that it will grant another year of eligibility to student-athletes who have participated in spring sports, but a number of questions remain surrounding how this will impact financial aid for each athletic program. The unfortunate reality is that for many college athletes, this season was their only shot.

Within the realm of professional sports, the revenue lost for these industries as a result of canceling games and suspending seasons will have a ripple effect for years to come, influencing contracts, salary caps and even league champions years down the road. ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski described the NBA as a league that is paralyzed following the indefinite suspension of their season.

While league commissioners and franchise owners are in disarray attempting to address these sudden changes, the group that is perhaps hit hardest by the fallout of the coronavirus is the hourly workers who rely on their income from working in and around arenas to get by.

The widespread cancellation of sporting events worldwide is unprecedented. As such, there was little to no preexisting protocol to address the needs of those who depend on hourly wages from sports arenas and franchises to survive.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was at the forefront of this discussion when news broke March 11 that the NBA would be suspending the remainder of its season.

In an interview broadcast during what would become the final NBA game of the seasonplayed between the Denver Nuggets and Dallas MavericksCuban said, I reached out to the folks at the arena and our folks at the Mavs to find out what it would cost to support, financially support, people who arent going to be able to come to work.

Weve already started the process of having a program in place. I dont have any details to give, but its certainly something thats important to me.

NBA players have already begun pledging support out of their own pockets. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love pledged $100,000 to aid arena workers displaced by the NBAs cancellation of the season. My hope is that others will step up, Love stated. New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson made a similar gesture, offering to cover the salaries of Pelicans arena workers for 30 days.

Throughout history, sports have served as an outlet and an escape for so many, theyve brought people together in a way few other things can. Now, it is precisely that coalescent quality of sports that necessitates their discontinuance.

The recent developments within sports leagues across the world have come as a shock and disappointment to many. However, it is a necessary sacrifice in order to ensure the safety of the athletes, their families, league employees and fans across the globe as the coronavirus remains a threat to public safety.

As it stands now, the coronavirus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on March 13. It is unclear what the timetable will be for sports to return to their normal scheduling and how the continuation of each leagues season will proceed.

These are truly uncharted territories being entered within the world of sports. One can only hope that a return to normalcy exists in the not too distant future.

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The impact of COVID-19 on sports - Psuvanguard.com

NEW YORK, NY JANUARY 08: Harvey Weinstein exits the courtroom at New York City criminal court during his sex crimes trial on January 8, 2020 in New York City. Weinstein, a movie producer whose alleged sexual misconduct helped spark the #MeToo movement, pleaded not-guilty on five counts of rape and sexual assault against two unnamed women and faces a possible life sentence in prison. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

By Lisa M. Rea and Ailbhe Griffith

Most of us were not in the courtroom during the testimony of a multitude of women who came forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. We all waited expectantly for the sentencing of Weinstein by New York Judge James Burke. He received a sentence of 23 years in prison for rape and criminal sex act convictions. The maximum sentence could have been 29 years or a minimum of five years. What we know now is that women have felt for so many years that sexual assault and rape are not taken seriously under the rule of law. Today that changed. The sentence reflected the #Me Too movement but it is more than that recent movement. Are women empowered by this sentence and the trial itself? I would argue, no, they want more. Its restorative justice.

What is most interesting is Weinsteins public comments, his first in court. He said, We may have different truths but I have great remorse for all of you. Weinstein also stated, Im totally confused. I think men are confused about these issues. In the field of restorative justice many victims of crime and victims of violence would be more astounded by those comments than not. Its the lack of remorse thats expressed by Weinstein when apparently he was trying to express remorse. Perhaps he did not write those words himself, maybe his legal defense team did, but there is no remorse there at all. The comment about different truths sounds exactly like many high profile offenders who do not take responsibility for their actions after being called out for sexual harassment or worse convicted of sexual assault and rape.

The victims of violence Restorative Justice International (RJI) works with nationally and globally are asking for victims-driven restorative justice. This is a global movement of victims seeking something that so often our criminal justice systems does not offer: a way to heal but also a justice that seeks offender accountability. And it must be victims-driven.

RJI recently conducted a podcast with a victim of a violent sexual assault in Dublin, Ireland. Her name is Ailbhe Griffith. http://www.restorativejusticeinternational.com/2020/ailbhe-griffith-podcast-with-marie-keenan-dublin-ireland-feb-2020/

Ailbhe wanted what the justice system could never provide answers and the opportunity to reclaim her power in his presence. In her case her offender received a nine year sentence for the violent attack she endured in 2005. But Ailbhe realized that she wanted something else that she later learned had a name: restorative justice. Through a restorative justice dialogue with the offender, with the skilled assistance of Dr. Marie Keenan, a national restorative justice expert in Ireland, she would be empowered to ask questions and to tell her attacker to his face how the violent attack had impacted on her on her life. This process is more than the simple reading of a victim impact statement, something Ailbhe had the opportunity to do in court but still didnt feel it was enough. For Ailbhe this voluntary victim offender dialogue provided much more than the prison sentence her offender served. It would free her from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and allow her to move on with her life. In being afforded the opportunity to humanize the man who had behaved so violently towards her and in becoming a human to him, Ailbhe finally found peace and healing, something she feels she never would have been able to achieve via the criminal justice system alone.

While most of the victims of Weinstein, especially those who publicly testified, praised the prison sentence he received we wonder if each victim might want, in addition to the sentence, restorative justice. This seems quite possible; with some reporting in the New York Times soon after the guilty verdict, that one of the first well-known actresses to accuse Weinstein, Ashley Judd, indicated that she would love for Harvey to have a restorative justice process in which he could come emotionally to terms with his wrongs. The question of whether Weinsteins sentence was too severe is another subject worth debating. But from Weinsteins comments in court it appears he still does not understand the impact his actions had on his victim. Through restorative justice processes an offender would hear more directly from the victim(s) and not in a court setting.

It is RJIs position that victims of sexual assault and abuse need restorative justice as a right. That would mean that victims of violence would be asked by our justice system if they wish to choose restorative justice. Restorative justice would be explained to crime victims and could include, as in Ailbhes case, an option to participate in a direct victim offender dialogue, if both victim and offender agree. In those cases thorough preparation occurs with both victim and offender with a trained facilitator. A victims right to restorative justice is not a new concept and increasingly recognized and supported in many countries. This new right to restorative justice must be embraced in our laws and applied to criminal cases nationally and throughout our world.

There are other options when a victim does not choose direct dialogue including meeting with a surrogate offender (similar offense but unrelated cases). Such programs exist nationally and globally (e.g. Sycamore Tree Project, Bridges to Life, Insight Prison Project and others). But we need more such programs (in- prison and post-conviction), Those programs must be fully funded, including victim offender dialogues, to reach more crime victims and their offenders. This is a new way of responding to violence against women. It puts the needs of victims first in ways that urge offender accountability and seeks to restore victims/survivors as much as possible.

Weinsteins sentencing hearing (Associated Press) March 11, 2020

AP coverage: https://apnews.com/310554f06f644d41e1c0513600099ce1

Ashley Judd Responds https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/nyregion/harvey-weinstein-accusers.html

Lisa M. Rea is President, Restorative Justice International http://www.restorativejusticeinternational.com & Ailbhe Griffith is a restorative justice advocate, victim/survivor of violent crime and RJI Ambassador of Restorative Justice (Dublin, Ireland). Contact RJIto learn more about the work and how it evolves and expands daily from a national and global perspective.

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Guest Commentary: Weinstein Verdict: Restorative Justice Is Needed to Empower Victims - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

Additional N100bn for Health sectorAdvises banks to discourage large gathering of staffBy Babajide Komolafe

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Wednesday announced additional measures to address the possible impact of the Covid-19 virus on the economy, including injection of N1 trillion across all critical sectors of the economy.

The new measures also include N100 billion loan in 2020 to support the health authorities to ensure laboratories, researchers and innovators work with global scientists to patent and or produce vaccines and test kits In Nigeria to prepare for any major crises ahead

Furthermore the CBN advised deposit money banks to activate their business continuity plan as well as discourage large gatherings of staff and customers.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja adding that the management of the CBN will meet with the Bankers Committee on Saturday, March 21, 2020, to work out the modalities.

Emefiele also told newsmen that an Implementation Committee that will execute the private sector contribution of N1.5 trillion infrastructures funding that will link farming communities to markets as agreed at the recently concluded Going for Growth Roundtable last week will be set-up next week.

Given the plunge in the price of oil, which dropped to $25 per barrel on Wednesday with its attendant low accretion to oil revenue, the CBN Governor directed all Deposit Money Banks to increase their support to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries to enhance local drug manufacturing, increased bed count in hospitals across Nigeria, in funding intensive care as well as in training, laboratory testing, equipment and Research & Development.

In addition to the N50 billion soft loans to small businesses announced on Monday, March 16, 2020, Emefiele said the CBN would also increase its intervention by another N100 billion in loan in 2020, to support the health authorities to ensure laboratories, researchers and innovators work with global scientists to patent and or produce vaccines and test kits In Nigeria to prepare for any major crises ahead.

According to him, the apex bank will release details of how the unveiled facilities would be accessed and released, adding that the CBN had also set-up the Financial Markets Situation Room to monitor global markets and advise the bank on adequate response.

Meanwhile, Emefiele has advised all Deposit Money Banks and other regulated entities in the banking industry to trigger their business continuity plans to ensure that their staff and families are protected, and their operations remain largely undisrupted.

He further advised the banks to adhere strictly to the directives, advice, and notices from the Federal Ministry of Health, National Centre for Disease Control and other relevant government agencies on national response measures to COVID-19.

As a way of checking possible spread of the virus, he urged the institutions to ensure regular and appropriate sanitization of their premises and make available in all their locations adequate sanitization materials and also to discourage large gatherings of staff and customers.

While pledging that the CBN will continue to monitor all developments on the COVID 19 infection and design appropriate monetary response to protect the people and economy of Nigeria, Emefiele urged that Nigerians take advantage of turning what appeared to be an adversity in the pandemic into an opportunity.

Vanguard

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(Breaking) COVID-19: CBN to inject N1trn in additional measures to stimulate economy - Vanguard