News Scrapbook 1989

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Daily Transcript (Cir. D. 10,000)

Oceanside, CA (San Diego Co.) North County Blade Tribune I Cir. D. 29,089) Cir. S. 30,498)

La Jolla, CA (San Diego Co.) La Jolla Light (Cir. W. 9,3361

. Jlllni'• P. C. 8

"'' 1888

MONDAY.APRIL 10, 1989

4A/' SAN DIEGO DAILY TRANSCRIPT

lf(I <.A 1«11 fide •• P. C. 8 far 1618 i~hf•

1 0 1989

~MQA palls Discipline Report 'Rhetoric' The Board of 1 dical Quality said. The other 4,000 includes Miller of the Food and Drug A~- A111urance, burdened with a 1,000 complaints not involving ministration. The conf'.erence this tremendous backlog of cases, is too physicians and 3,000 which could year is at La J~lla*M:rnott.

..Alt.,.'• , C II

Fu alden's trans er rks end of n era , ,,,

•

slow and not be corroborated, were handled University of San Diego-based by other agencies or fell outside Center for Public Interest Law BMQA jurisdiction, said Wagstaff. last week after releasing a year- Investigators proceed immediately long report characterized by the with cases that involve harm or BMQA as " rh e toric " and present danger and do not simply "sloganeering." bury them with the less urgent lenient, asserted the

The Fift h Annual Private Long-Term Care Insurance Con• ference starts Wednesday at the Sheraton Ha rbor I sland and focuses on evolving private-public partnerships in private long-term care i n surance. E ducational workshops take place both days of the conference. * * * Kaiser Permanente, Scripps Clinic and Research Founda- tion, Sharp-Rees-Stealy Medical Group and UC Sao Diego Medi- cal Center host a two-day con• ference on the fut ure of ambulatory nursing, considered, they asserted, a hot trend in nursing today. The conference, intended for managers, clinicians, educators, nurses and assistants, explores current stan• dar ds and future trends in am- bulatory nursing. It takes place Thursday and Friday at Kona Kai Resort. Topics covered include: management of ambulatory care in the '90s, oncology emergencies, legal aspects of ambulatory care and the ins and outs of outpatient surgery . * • * Dr. Clay Simpson, Jr., director of the Di vision of Disadvant aged Assistance in the U.S. Public Health Service, speaks tomorrow at San Diego State University's &:ripps Cottage on "Addressing Minority Underrepresentation in Health Careers: Unfinished Busi- ness." Simpson addresses the progress made in the last 16 years toward parity for minorities in health professions - which he now characterizes as 50 percent na• tionally, at best. Simpson has managed a federal Health Careers Opportunity Program for the last 16 years and directs also the new $10 million Centers for Excellence program, which supports health minority professions. It starts at 4 p.m.

uty d1 r1rl alto n y who work cd undc r W:ilcn' tran. ler ad ened them. "lie 1s n only a great bo ·s and ~Id Deputy District At- torn y Domill1c Dugo, "but he is like a r. th ·r to th Young deputies." Smee 198 the V1 ta branch has been known a "Wally World," where Wald(•n's diminance was pokcn of throughout he county At a recc,t hearing in San Diego, one pro •cutor n signed to the juv<•nile d1vi. 1011 I I.ti' I about the North County office "They cal it Wally World,' he aid, • b •cau • t)at' Phil Walden's place. There's aivays controversy stirnng there." .Superior Court Judge Tony Mamo, on e the t rgct of Walden's rath, said Walden'. ' ways of doing things" r fl et cl I dominate persona lity. •• nd w •n •ver you have that kind of a per 1 111 a limited geographical are· for period of time you have an •rn," Mui o uid. 'He's been the head of orth County longer than the llonald ll gan was president." D puty 1>1 Incl ttorney Donald Mac •11 h been assigned to fill the post. Mac ii, who has been with the district a(lorney's office . ince 1984, hnndlcd th Municipal Court division in San Di •o before the Iran ·fer Walden 1aid h was not happy with th new ignment. But he did not cnt1c1zc t dcc1 ion made by District Attorne\ F.dwin Miller Jr. Walden raduated from Univer~ity of Tt·xu in 1965, earning his law d grcc t the Umversity of an Diego_ thre year later. Alfer sen 111g a t\\o year ~itch in the Army, Walden wa: hired by the district attorney's of fle e wh c h • practiced from the following hrce years. In 1973, Walden entered entered mto pn\ ate practice with defense lawyers Charles Goldberg and Fredm; Link, now a Municipal Court judge. Walden said he rejoined Miller's taff 111 / 1975 "after • See Walden, Page jB·2 teachc·r,' upervision said hi

complaints.

"Complaints are up to 6,000 a year, but only 12 physicians received ... public discipline last

"That is an absolute exag~era- tion," stated Wagstaff of the SIX to eight years for case length, noting that it's closer to two to three

including

year for mcompetence -

revocations, suspensions and

...

years.

pro-

USD I

probations," sai

"What he is talking about are

fessor Robert Fellmeth, director

the Supreme

to

cases that go

ofCPIL.

Fellmeth, t h e Stat e Bar ' s Court," Wagstaff said. discipline monitor, attacked nu• The BMQA has

identified a

~aQ Kiri I and Smokey, the lat cat.

number of reforms that it would like to enact and will discuss some

merous aspects of the BMQA, in- eluding: lack of resources has left

MedTech Transactions by Lorraine PB!sons

of them at a budgetary meeting April 15. * * * Cal Western School of Law and UC San Diego's Connect have organized the Fifth Annual San Diego Biotechnology Conference which explores the relationship be- tween Japan and the U.S. and in• ternational development of bio- technology. That takes place Fri- day. An international race has devel- oped over the last few years be- tween Japan and the U.S. in the biotechnology industry, noted the school. The panels will highlight development strategies of both countries, mcluding basic research, patent systems, regulations and inte r national investments. Kimisbige Ishizaka, Ph.D., head of the new La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, and Dr. Craig Wallace, a head of In- ternational Research at National Institutes of Health, will be two of the speakers. Back again is Henry

721 cases unassigned and another 700 cases under investigations for longer than six months; declining disciplinary activity; secrecy Sur• rounding actions; fragmented de- partmental structure; lack of con- sii;tency in decisions, judges or review; the length of cases which can run six to eight years if fully contested and which allow doctors to practice during that time. "This system is so slow, so meager and so trivial that death is weeding out incompetent physi- cians much faster than is the Board," asserted Steve Barrow, chief lobbyist for CPIL, in a pre- pared tatement. Calling the study "rhetoric" and ''. loganeering," BMQA Executive Director Kenneth Wagstaff vig- orously disputed the facts, conclu- sions and the proprosed reforms in CPIL's study. "I think good ideas are there but so are the puffery and the bad numbers," he said. The number of complaints is not up to 6,000 a year; it is 2,000, he

Local an le: Kristi ne

S11ad ar Universi ty of Utah 1 w >role or j ust named as new d~ n of the Lni~ an Diego ':.chool of I aw, is the fir f \\OTIJan in the school's lo hold the post and one t

PHILIP WALDEN , Was NC s chief prosecutor Walden

--~---~

h tor of only

handfu l of female

confrontati • nal-style of prosecu- llon , Wair! acknowledged that he has caut •d "much consterna- tion amon he judiciary and the defen e ba " said . "D1plomac • is the first option . But if dipl acy doesn 't work, you are loo mg at one deputy DA who is not, afraid of confronta- tion ." Walden, however, is quick to add he 1s a company man that has never taken a position not approved y Miller. Superior Court Judge Don Martin on praised Walden for being a "hard-nosed prosecutor," but said that under his supervi• ' 'Con£ro ation 1s the last resort,'' Walden

sion cases that were negotiable went to trial, wasting court time and taxpayer's money. Walden 's deputies, the judge said, "arc a little more difficult to deal with than (prosecutors) at other branch offices of the district attorney's office. They are a little bit tougher on their plea-negotiations.'' Martinson, another of Walden's advisories , said he hopes North County prosecutors will become " a little more realistic" about how they charge cases now that MacNeil is chief. The judge said some cases fil- ed by Walden's deputies arc overcharged, giving the district attorney 's office an advantage

defendant, Ke, dean HI the nati on . She 's also a

last

The

should."

a

when plta-bargaining with

d

case, Wayne Watkins, was acquit!

his most notable

In

defendant.

g~a uat ~f f he Bi hop's

last year.

former Deputy

and

"My philosophy is not to over- Walden charge," Walden said, but to file the appropriate charges based

Durmg the pro ecution of / School, n ght here in La Jolla.

District Attorney Paul Pfingst

prosecuted Laura Troiani and Troiam, Walden shocked m - .

•

becommg d1si;:u t d with the fact thnt I wa k epmg people out of pn on that belonged there " On 1''r1dny, Wald n spent the la t day as u pro ccutor assigned to orth County with the name plate that once hung outside his office stuffed m the inside pocket of h1 sports jacket. "MncNcal's already moved m," Walden said, as he eased back in dl' k chair h • borrowed from a pro. ccutor he once upcrv1scd h spoke of h1 reputed

by having the office of Watkins' lawyer, Btadley Patton, search- spurred Patton to file a claim for evidence. The action Walden filed allegations with the State Bar that the defense lawyer acted a a n accessory to Walden had reached the pin- "Controvers} is my companion and co-pilot ,' Walden said as he smiled , " but tru h and justice are nacle of contronr~y. agamst Walden.

five co-defendants for the Aug. 10, 1984, ambush slaying of her

in

representations made

on

police reports

'l:any times the evidence pro- Marine husband, Carlo Troiani. ed

were

defendants

six

All

vided by the arresting agencies do not substantiate the alleged crimes, Walden said . "Resolutions are then sought,''

charged with murder and the special circumstances of murder for financial gain and murder

Walden said, " to dismiss the case while lying in wait.

Mrs. Troiani was found guilty, murder by witl1holding evid nee.

at a level supported by the pro-

but sentenced to life in prison Four her male co-defendants, all former Marines, pleaded guilty to murder and are serving life

of."

Walden also said that under without the possibility of parole.

his supervision, his office was no "rubber stamp" for police agen- cies, "filing charges just because

/I

my captai ns• ·

terms.

we

thought

detective

some

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---~_,

Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Co. ) Los Angeles Da ily J ournal (Cir . 5 x W. 21,287 ) 0 R1 f 1989

Jlfle,i

P. c. e

E., ,

1888

uch Higher Salaries SACRAMENTcr- 1 56~ lawmakers should have much higher salanes but should get_no outside income, not even wedding gifts, a San Diego law professor told the Assembly Ethics Committee last week. " ~t is an exclusive contract with the pu,~lic ~nd the public should pay you for it, said_Roben Fellmeth, director of the Ce!lter ~or Public Interest w of the Umvers1ty of San Diego. '_'The whole_ notion of a part-time legislator keepmg his finger in the pie wa fine 50 years ago" but no longer he said 5 • From Staff and Wire Repo,ts ·

~

Costa Mesa, CA IOrange Co.) Daily Pilot (C)r. D. 32,062) (Cir. S. 32,015)

.._A/'4,i '•

I'. C. 8

Err 1661

San Diego, Calif. South ern Cross (Cir. W. 27,500) A R 3 1989

NEIGHBORHOODFOCUS

Wednesday, April 12, 1989

A7

J lllen

P. c. B

l .. ,r. I BBB

is her reward

~D health fare

open to the publi~~ ALCALA PARK - Freelrealth tests and screening, including blood pressure checks, visual acuity testing, computerized health risk appraisals and glucose tesung will be available at the University of San Diego' s Health Fair, April 21, 8 a.m.-5 p .m. The USD School of Nursing is sponsoring the event which is free and open to the public. . Educational booths and classes will be offered by various groups such as the American Cancer Society. · For further informati~n call 260-465/