[Updated: Thu., Feb. 15, 2024, 8:20am]
STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS: The only thing more unforgivable than getting something wrong is getting it right. Just ask any reporter. The only thing even more unforgivable still is getting it right too soon. Just ask Anthony Wagner, the bigger-than-life former spokesperson and “public engagement officer” for the Santa Barbara Police Department during the chiefdom of former Police Chief Lori Luhnow. Wagner was not everyone’s cup of tea. He wore loud neon ties and even louder socks. He combed his hair back in one of those sculpted waves only Catholic school boys know how to achieve. Within the department, Wagner was something of a freak; he actually liked talking to reporters. Worse yet, he liked reporters themselves. We, it turns out, were the only ones who listened to him. Personally, I enjoyed the exchanges. The problem with Wagner was that he had a rambunctious, inventive, thoughtful, and belligerent brain. The victim of a Jesuit education, Wagner was cursed with knowing he was the smartest guy in any room. Being generous by nature, he couldn’t help sharing that insight.
I mention Wagner because in the last three months, I endured three massive deep-dive brain dumps on how best to keep people who are mentally ill out of county jail and get them into treatment instead. These efforts got primetime billing during county supervisors’ meetings, reflecting the extreme level of desperation with which the problem is taken at the highest levels.