LOS ANGELES - In the wake of violence at Men's Central Jail resulting in the injuries of Sheriff's Deputies May 2, federal district court judge Dean Pregerson has scheduled a hearing at the request of the ACLU of Southern California. The renewed violence marks the first time that Sheriff's personnel have been injured.

The following can be attributed to Jody Kent, jails project coordinator for the ACLU of Southern California.

The ACLU of Southern California monitors the conditions in the seven Los Angeles County jails facilities and for years has been warning that conditions at Men's Central Jail, the largest single jail in the country, create unacceptable safety and security risks for deputies and inmates alike.

More must be done to avoid violence in the jails. Changes made after the riots and fighting that erupted throughout the county jails earlier this year are not sufficient and the proposals the Sheriff's Department has presented to the Board of Supervisors will not solve deeply-rooted, underlying problems in Men's Central Jail.

Last month the ACLU returned to court and asked the federal judge overseeing a three-decade old lawsuit on jails conditions to establish a collaborative process involving Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff's Department in order to develop and implement a strategic plan to reduce severe overcrowding and staffing shortages at Men's Central Jail. The scheduled hearing responds to this request.

Specific conditions detailed in court papers filed by the ACLU last month include:

' Unsafe staff to inmate ratios. In many cases one sheriff's deputy must monitor more than 100 inmates, which puts everyone at risk.

' Inmates are confined to spaces about a third of the size required by federal correctional standards.

' Dayrooms are being used for housing despite sheriff's deputies inability to properly monitor the scores of inmates that can be housed in the open rooms.

' Almost all inmates are locked down nearly 24 hours a day. Some 15 percent of inmates are denied three hours per week of federally mandated exercise time, which means they are locked down 24 hours a day.

The ACLU believes that the court must be involved to ensure long-term, positive changes that will improve dangerous and deadly conditions at Men's Central Jail for both deputies and inmates.

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California today named Heather Carrigan as Chief Operating Officer.

In this newly created position, which reports directly to Executive Director Ramona Ripston, Carrigan will manage the day-to-day operations of both organizations, including the coordination of the work of departments and facilitation of policy and advocacy positions. Carrigan will also help the development of annual goals, long range plans and make changes to the current organizational structure to make the organization more effective as it grows.

'With the support of my tremendous staff, the ACLU of Southern California has been able to grow exponentially and better defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights especially during this time of unprecedented civil liberties and civil rights abuses,' Ripston said. 'Heather's keen judgment, strong leadership and comprehensive understanding of ACLU issues has made her a valued member of my management team for many years. As our new COO she will help make our organization even stronger."

Carrigan started with the ACLU/SC in 1997 as Special Policy Assistant to the Executive Director, where she researched and analyzed issues, prepared testimony, opinion pieces and speeches and represented the Executive Director before legislative bodies and in coalition meetings.

In 1999, Carrigan was promoted to Director of Public Policy, a position she has held until now. In this capacity, she oversaw the policy and field work of the organization, working on key campaigns such as legislation to combat racial profiling, expand domestic partner rights, curtail enforcement of the death penalty, create access to higher education for undocumented California graduates, and many more. And she served on Executive Committees of statewide ballot initiatives, including the successful Proposition 54 campaign defeating Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action classification initiative, and the anti-choice Proposition 73.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my nine years of work at the ACLU of Southern California, the most progressive and effective ACLU in the country," said Carrigan. "The ACLU/SC's vision is what brought me here nine years ago and I am truly honored to have this opportunity to further that vision with Ramona and the Boards of Directors."

During her tenure as Policy Director, Carrigan grew the department from a staff of one to seven. With her very able staff she developed and designed a customized, open source database website and initiated the first affiliate web-based action alert system, which now has the largest number of ACLU e-activists in any state. Carrigan has also been responsible for overseeing the communications strategies for all litigation and non-litigation advocacy. She will continue to manage the media work of the organization in her new role.

Prior to coming to the ACLU/SC Carrigan worked as an advocate for the homeless and as a Policy Associate of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

ORANGE, Calif. - The ACLU of Southern California and the Fullerton School District announced an agreement today that will ensure equal access to a public school program that requires certain students and their families to purchase laptop computers.

The settlement, which was announced after four months of talks, will allow parents at the 20 schools in the Fullerton district to choose whether or not a school should participate in the Laptops for Learning Program. If a majority of families decide to implement the program at a particular school, parents may either pay nearly $1,500 for a Macintosh G4 laptop or they will be able to borrow one from the district.

Hector Villagra, director of the ACLU of Southern California's Orange County office, said modifications to the existing program ensure that it is fair and equitable.

"We're pleased to have worked out a way for families to participate fully in the laptop program even if, for whatever reason, they choose not to buy computers," Villagra said.

Under the settlement, the program can be initiated if the total number of families that voluntarily lease computers through lease/purchase agreements, those that qualify to buy computers through grants, and those loaned computers purchased by the school with federal, state and local funds, not including the district's general fund, equals 90 percent. The district will then provide the remaining 10 percent of students with computers to borrow. Students will have equal access to computers during the school year regardless of whether they purchased or borrowed them.

Several parents alerted the ACLU about the program, concerned that the fee for computers violated the state constitutional guarantee of a free public education. The parents filed suit in Orange County Superior Court Thursday morning and will seek court approval of the proposed settlement. The settlement also creates a fund for parents seeking reimbursement for past participation in the program. The Orange County Superior Court will oversee the settlement for the next five years.