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Ventura County man who beat daughter into coma gets life in prison

Ben Shapiro
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Ventura County man who beat daughter into coma gets life in prison

A Ventura County man convicted of beating his 4-year-old daughter so severely that it left her paralyzed and in a vegetative state was sentenced this week to life in prison with the possibility of parole, officials said.

Tekquan Alexander, of Thousand Oaks, was convicted in November of torture, assault on a child causing a coma and corporal injury to a child, all felonies, in connection with his daughter, Alani, the Ventura County district attorney’s office said in a news release. The jury also agreed to multiple aggravating factors in the case, including causing great bodily injury to a child under 5, using a weapon and taking advantage of a position of trust.

Tekquan Alexander in this undated mugshot provided by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

Tekquan Alexander, 28, of Thousand Oaks, is shown in this undated mugshot provided by the Ventura County district attorney’s office.

(Ventura County District Attorney)

“Today [Friday] is Alani’s birthday and, while no punishment can undo the lifetime of challenges she will face, her family knowing her perpetrator could spend his life behind bars is a small gift of justice,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Rikole Kelly, who prosecuted the case, said in a Friday release. It was unclear when Alexander would be eligible for parole.

Over the week of Thanksgiving 2021, Alexander, 28, punched and beat his daughter Alani with a belt, the district attorney’s office said. On Nov. 29, he assaulted her with the belt again and after she wet her bed, he beat her with a stereo amplifier cable to unconsciousness in the bathroom of their home, according to the district attorney’s office.

The girl was airlifted to the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and was diagnosed with a brain injury, a brain bleed, spinal compression and broken bones, authorities said.

“Alani continues to suffer from profound and life-altering consequences due to the injuries she sustained. She remains paralyzed and in a vegetative state,” prosecutors said. “Her condition underscores the devastating impact of these injuries, leaving her reliant on round-the-clock medical care and support for even the most basic functions.”

If you believe a child is being abused or is unsafe due to neglect, call that county’s 24-hour hotline to report it.

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L.A. County girls’ soccer coach had hundreds of images of child porn, prosecutors say

Ben Shapiro
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L.A. County girls’ soccer coach had hundreds of images of child porn, prosecutors say

A 39-year-old teacher and girls’ soccer coach in Arcadia was charged Friday with possessing hundreds of images of child pornography, prosecutors announced, and authorities say they’re concerned he may have victimized girls in his care.

Justin Akio Yasutake, of Pasadena, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of being in possession of child or youth pornography. According to prosecutors, Yasutake knowingly had possession of images that showed child sexual abuse, including 10 or more images of a prepubescent minor or a minor who was under the age of 12, according to the charging documents.

Authorities received a tip about Yasutake on Nov. 11, according to the Arcadia Police Department. The tipster said that someone sent suspicious messages over social media asking about juvenile girls. The person also sent lewd videos.

Police used a search warrant to probe his electronic devices on Nov. 12 as part of their investigation. He was eventually arrested.

“Child pornography will not be tolerated … and individuals who exploit children will be vigorously prosecuted, especially when they are educators who hold positions of trust in the community,” said Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman in a statement.

Authorities believe there could be additional victims and are asking anyone with information about the case to contact authorities. Yasutake has been a girls’ soccer coach for about 20 years and has been possibly exploiting girls during that time, the Arcadia Police Department announced in a news release.

Anyone with information about the case can contact the Arcadia Police Department at (626) 574-5188. Anonymous tips can be made by phone at (800) 222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.

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Rescue crew tries to untangle a humpback in Newport Beach

Ben Shapiro
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Rescue crew tries to untangle a humpback in Newport Beach

A rescue team dispatched to aid an entangled whale spotted in the waters off Newport Beach was unable to free the whale from a rope — and now the whale hasn’t been seen for days.

Experts say that the whale — a 40-foot-long, approximately 5-year-old humpback — is likely in distress because the rope is tightly tied around its right flipper and extends through its mouth.

“It’s stressed and freaked and entangled and doesn’t realize we’re trying to help,” said Jessica Rodriguez, the education and communications manager for Newport Landing and Davey’s Locker Whale Watching.

Rodriguez said that whale watchers first spotted the waterbound mammal on Dec. 2, but it was not until Sunday that they noticed the rope while the whale was breaching the surface of the ocean.

“We were like, ‘Oh man, it’s very badly entangled,’ ” she said. “The rope is wrapped really tightly almost like a tourniquet around its flipper.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was called out to try to free the 50,000- to 60,000-pound whale, but their team was unable to cut away the ropes using knives.

The crew had to cut the rope close to the whale’s eye, which makes it a dangerous situation for the whale and the rescue team alike, Rodriguez said.

The whale was last seen Tuesday. It has not been spotted since.

The waters off of Orange County have been visited by an unusually high number of humpbacks this year, according to observers.

“I’ve been working in this area for 10 years and I’ve never seen this crazy level of humpback whales,” said wildlife photographer Mark Girardeau. “But they’re here and it’s incredible.”

The humpbacks are chasing schools of anchovies and often breach the surface of the water to grab at the little fish.

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Showdown looms after judge sets hearing to close L.A. juvenile hall

Ben Shapiro
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Showdown looms after judge sets hearing to close L.A. juvenile hall

One day after the L.A. County probation department refused a state oversight body’s order to shut down a long troubled youth facility, an L.A. County judge reopened the door to closing Los Padrinos juvenile hall.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Miguel Espinoza ordered the probation department to appear in court Dec. 23 to argue why the troubled Downey hall should not be closed down, with the roughly 260 young people inside relocated to safer facilities.

The judge’s order could force county officials to move youths at Los Padrinos to lower-security camps, home confinement or possibly to juvenile halls in adjacent counties.

The development comes a day after the probation department flouted an order by the California Board of State and Community Corrections to empty Los Padrinos by Dec. 12. Espinoza wrote in his order that by continuing to operate the hall despite the state order, the county is in violation of state law.

A spokesperson for the probation department said Friday that the agency “strongly believes our staffing at Los Padrinos is compliant with state regulations, and have appealed the BSCC’s recent findings.”

“We’re currently evaluating Judge Espinoza’s order and will respond as required,” the spokesperson’s statement said. “We also will continue working with our leaders and partners to minimize impact to public safety and the youth in our care.”

The state board, which oversees juvenile halls across California, ordered the Downey facility shut down by Dec. 12 after regulators found it “unsuitable” in October to house youths, primarily due to issues with staffing. The agency has struggled for years to properly staff its facilities, with officers refusing to come to work, citing dangerous conditions or remaining on medical leave long term.

The state oversight board gave the probation department 60 days to fix the problem or close the hall. The failure of an 11th-hour inspection last week left them seemingly with no option other than to shutter Los Padrinos, which had been open less than a year and a half.

However, the department has refused to vacate, saying they plan to “appeal” the state oversight board’s findings. The probation chief’s second in command, Kimberly Epps, told a county oversight body Thursday that the agency provides “a safe, secure and rehabilitative environment for all youth in our care” and “respectfully” disagreed with their findings.

The department seemed ready to refuse the state orders long before its final inspection failure. Earlier this week, The Times obtained a recording of Epps telling probation staff weeks ago that she would ignore any order to close down Los Padrinos.

“We’re not moving. You’re going to have to put our stuff on the curb,” she said, according to the recording.

The L.A. public defender’s office has said the agency will ask the courts to remove all 107 of its clients from Los Padrinos in light of the shutdown order.

The district attorney’s office said they were aware of the judge’s ruling and will be submitting a brief on the matter by Dec. 19.

The public defender’s office did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment Friday morning.

Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes the Downey hall, said she agreed with the agency’s refusal to move youths out, as the core problems were not with the facility, but rather with the staff.

“Relocating them from Los Padrinos is not going to be better for them. We have done it in the past and it has only caused more chaos and harm,” she said. “The reality is that many probation officers are not showing up to work, and that puts an unfair burden on those who do and undermines the rehabilitation of the youth.”

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Minnesota regulators approve controversial carbon pipeline

Ben Shapiro
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Minnesota regulators approve controversial carbon pipeline

Via KARE11: “A board of Minnesota regulators granted approval to a controversial carbon capture pipeline that has long drawn the ire of rural environmentalist groups.” 

MPR reports as more students qualify for services, Minnesota special education costs are climbing rapidly. Recently released state budget data shows a forecast of special education services to rise by $1.7 billion by 2029. 

Star Tribune reports residents in Farmington are suing the city over a proposed data center campus. “The residents’ central argument against the project outlined in the Nov. 29 complaint hinges on where it began: annexation.”

Duluth News Tribune’s Peter Passi writes that Duluth proposed a $41 million plan to address water system problems. The improvements will address multiple “deficiencies” identified by federal and state inspectors.

Star Tribune reports an Albert Lea man was sentenced to 25 years for killing a 2-year-old boy and assaulting his newborn son.  

Cole Premo at WCCO writes Cub Foods in Uptown Minneapolis is closed Friday following an early morning fire.

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Dick Van Dyke rescued by neighbors in Malibu fire, reunited with cat

Ben Shapiro
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Dick Van Dyke rescued by neighbors in Malibu fire, reunited with cat

Dick Van Dyke is celebrating his 99th birthday Friday with his wife and pets — including his beloved cat Bobo, who briefly went missing — thanks to neighbors who helped rescue the legendary screen and stage actor from his home this week as a wildfire swept through Malibu.

Van Dyke and his wife, Arlene, were among thousands of area residents forced to flee their homes because of the Franklin fire, which started Monday night and was driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, eventually ballooning to 4,000 acres.

Van Dyke wrote on Facebook that he and his wife were able to safely evacuate their home. But the situation was more harrowing than the “Mary Poppins” star let on. The six-time Emmy winner was struggling to untangle a water hose as the fire approached his home in the Serra Retreat community in Malibu, Van Dyke told NBC 4 News.

“I’m out there laying on the ground trying to undo this fire hose, and the fire’s coming over the hill,” he said. “What I did was exhaust myself. I forgot how old I am, and I realized I was crawling to get out.”

Several homes were destroyed in Malibu, including in the Serra Retreat area. But Van Dyke was rescued by his neighbors.

“And three neighbors came and carried me out, and came back and put out a little fire in the guesthouse and saved me,” Van Dyke said.

The helpful neighbors led Van Dyke to a nearby vehicle as ash fell onto his driveway, according to footage from a security camera on his property. That’s when two firefighters arrived. His home was saved, Van Dyke said.

Although he and his wife were able to escape with their pets, one of their cats, Bobo, could not be found. But when the couple returned home, they had a welcome surprise.

“We found Bobo as soon as we arrived back home this morning,” Van Dyke wrote in a follow-up Facebook post. “There was so much interest in his disappearance that Animal Control was called in to assist. But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed.”

The post received many well-wishes from fans, and like any Southern California holiday miracle, members of the British rock band Coldplay chimed in to offer their support. The band recently released a video of its new single “All My Love” that features lead singer Chris Martin, sitting at a piano, serenading Van Dyke, who sings and dances along to the tune.

“Dick – we’re sending love and prayers to you, Arlene and everyone affected by these fires. Call us if there’s anything we can do. Love Phil, Chris, Guy, Jonny and Will,” Coldplay wrote in a comment to the photo of Bobo.

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California Rep. Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after injury in Europe

Ben Shapiro
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California Rep. Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after injury in Europe

WASHINGTON —  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was admitted to a hospital for evaluation after she sustained an injury during an official engagement while traveling with a bipartisan congressional delegation in Luxembourg, according to her spokesperson.

“Speaker Emerita Pelosi is currently receiving excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals,” her spokesperson Ian Krager wrote in a statement. “She continues to work and regrets that she is unable to attend the remainder of the [congressional delegation] engagements to honor the courage of our servicemembers during one of the greatest acts of American heroism in our nation’s history.”

The trip to Luxembourg is to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Krager wrote that Pelosi was honored to travel with the delegation, many of whom had family members who fought in World War II — including her uncle, Johnny.

This is a developing story.

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Election year politics, council-Frey divide color Minneapolis budget

Ben Shapiro
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Election year politics, council-Frey divide color Minneapolis budget

On its surface, several things made this week’s Minneapolis budget unique from any budget prior: 

  • The city faces the expiration of federal pandemic relief dollars from the American Rescue Plan (a challenge cities across the country face).
  • The City Council passed the mayor’s proposed budget with a record 71 amendments, including transferring funds away from the police department’s horse mounted patrol (and thanks to a council member who opposed this, we know the names of the horses being laid off: Haven, Maximillion, Buster, Blue, Trooper, Teak, Goliath, Rooster and Cabo).
  • Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the council-passed budget, the first budget veto in his tenure.
  • The council overrode the mayor’s veto of the budget with a supermajority vote.

No matter what municipality you live in, this year’s budget process was primed to be tough with the looming Dec. 31 expiration of federal American Rescue Plan dollars. Parts of the budget priority shift also came from President-elect Donald Trump’s election, including discussion around support for the city’s immigrant, transgender and nonbinary communities. 

But in Minneapolis, additional factors fed the unique aspects of this year’s budget process: next year’s elections for all City Council members and the mayor, plus the first budget cycle under a progressive majority council that’s often at odds with Frey. Why are council members running again after two-year terms? Redistricting changed the normal council election timeline. 

The Tuesday meeting included its fair share of tense moments and tiffs, many of which were over how certain nonprofits and projects directly added to the budget via council member amendments. Ward 4 council member LaTrisha Vetaw lamented that she didn’t see enough representation of north Minneapolis in the nonprofits directly funded in these amendments. Ward 13 council member Linea Plamisano said the budget amendments felt like “trading money behind the scenes.” 

Ward 8 council member Andrea Jenkins pointed to these expenditures as well, which included funding for projects by nonprofits like the Latino Center for Community Engagement, Mercado Central, One Southside and Mni Sota Fund. 

“I am absolutely positive that each and every one of these organizations do enormously great work,” Jenkins said. “They serve a need, a deep need in our community, but there are hundreds of nonprofits in our community that do the same thing, and so we’re saying these three nonprofits are our favorites, and the other nonprofits don’t even get an opportunity to apply for these very limited funds.”

This talking point during budget deliberations led to moments of contention. 

Council member Robin Wonsley called herself out for breaching council decorum after saying: “This idea that we’re just behind the scenes doing coordinated campaigns that I’ve heard — it’s just — I want to use whatever alternative word you could say to BS.” Any council member could bring forward budget amendments if they found a program particularly important, Wonsley added. “Bring an amendment,” she said. “It’s that easy.”

In his veto, Frey called the council’s budget “reckless” and claimed the budget will “increase property taxes for years to come” and that the council was reallocating money from essential city services to “fund pet projects.” 

“Fiscally, times are tight — federal funding will likely be withheld, and state dollars are in short supply. We need to be responsible with our tax dollars,” Frey wrote. 

After overriding Frey’s veto, council member Jeremiah Ellison, who is not running for reelection next year, said he’s proud of the council-passed budget and the work that went into it.  

“Me and council member Palmisano, we come from a different culture of how things used to be, and I’ve spent the last year sort of grappling with the ways in which City Hall is changing,” Ellison said. 

While Ellison said he did see partisanship deepening between the council and city administration, he emphasized that he does not see this divide driven by council leadership, but rather by the Frey administration. 

“I think both sides of the government need to look in the mirror and figure out how we’re going to mitigate some of the fighting … how we make sure that staff are not caught in the crossfire,” Ellison said. 

Ellison, who has served as a council member since 2018, also said he’s heard many of the same talking points used by the administration in years past to discourage council budget amendments.  

“Ever since I’ve been in office, we’ve been told horror stories about what this is going to be for the next budget and so on and so forth. They’ve never come to fruition,” Ellison said. 

The Minneapolis budget timeline

This year’s Minneapolis budget process has been a doozy. So here’s a timeline breaking down factors contributing to the process: 

November 2023: Minneapolis elects a progressive-leaning supermajority to the City Council. 

August 2024: Mayor Jacob Frey sets an 8.1% property tax levy increase cap for the 2025 budget (this he later increased to 8.3%).  

Sept. 11: Frey submits his recommended budget. 

Nov. 5: Donald Trump is elected president. 

Friday, Dec. 6: The City Council’s Budget Committee starts a three-day-long set of budget deliberations, which included crafting over 70 proposed budget amendments. 

Tuesday, Dec. 10: With a 10-2 vote, the City Council passes a $1.9 billion budget and 6.8% tax levy increase. The final budget included 71 total amendments to the mayor’s proposed budget.

Wednesday, Dec. 11: Frey vetoes the council’s budget. 

Thursday, Dec. 12: The council overrides the mayor’s veto with a 9-4 vote.  

Wednesday, Dec. 18: The state deadline for municipalities to have an approved budget. 

Dec. 31: American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for cities across the nation expire.

Winter Keefer

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How to prevent violent acts like the shooting of a Minnesota CEO

Ben Shapiro
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How to prevent violent acts like the shooting of a Minnesota CEO

The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson isn’t just the loss of one life. It shattered families, broke trust, and left a void in our community. Having lived and worked in Minneapolis from 2003 to 2023, not far from where he lived, I understand how violence of this kind reverberates beyond immediate families. It shakes neighborhoods, workplaces, and the shared sense of safety we all rely on.

Thompson grew up in Jewell, Iowa, a town of 1,200 people. He embodied the promise of a life shaped by decency and hard work. His accused killer, Luigi Mangione, had his own potential. But one violent act ended Thompson’s life and cast Mangione’s family into grief and shame. Violence wastes everything it touches.

This tragedy reflects a larger pattern we know too well. From the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. to the recent killing of Shinzo Abe, the loss of life — whether tied to power or personal vendettas — devastates families and communities alike. Each act, regardless of scale, leaves deep scars.

These events are not isolated. Workplace violence is now the second leading cause of occupational death in the United States, with nearly 2 million workers reporting incidents each year, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 78% of workplace homicides involve firearms. Even systemic failures, like lack of access to healthcare, lead to 68,000 preventable deaths annually. Whether through direct violence or neglect, the cost is the same: lives cut short, futures stolen, and communities fractured.

Lessons from preparedness

After 9/11, I directed security research for North American utilities, focusing on safeguarding critical infrastructure. In 2009, I created the Master of Science in Security Technologies program at the University of Minnesota to address risks through a systemic approach. These experiences taught me that protecting lives requires preparation, vigilance and decisive action.

Here are six principles that guide effective prevention:

  1. Assess Risks — Act Early: Vulnerabilities must be identified and addressed before they escalate. Early intervention often disrupts plans entirely.
    Example: In 2013, encrypted messages revealed a plot to assassinate a German politician. Swift action prevented the attack.
    Fact: 67% of attackers study their targets for weeks or months before acting (Secret Service, 2021).
  2. Profile Behavior — Spot Patterns: Signs of stress, grievances, or obsessive focus often reveal potential danger. Behavioral profiling can identify these before they escalate.
    Example: The Unabomber was apprehended after his manifesto was linked to earlier writings. Pattern recognition played a key role.
    Fact: 83% of attackers display warning behaviors before acting (Secret Service, 2021).
  3. Plan — Prepare for the Worst: Security measures, audits, and training create layers of defense that save lives.
    Example: In 2021, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe narrowly avoided assassination due to proactive planning and rapid response.
    Fact: Threats at high-profile events increase by 32%, but layered security prevents breaches (Interpol, 2020).
  4. Respond — Fast and Decisive: Hesitation costs lives. Rapid, precise action is essential in moments of crisis.
    Example: In 2015, trained security stopped a shooter at a Silicon Valley event within seconds, preventing casualties.
  5. Use Technology — Amplify Skill: AI and analytics detect patterns that human observation may miss, such as unusual purchases or activity.
    Example: Predictive tools flagged a credible threat at a corporate event, allowing security to intervene early.
    Fact: AI-assisted systems improve threat detection accuracy by 46% compared to manual methods (MIT Technology Review, 2023).
  6. Learn — Always Improve: Post-incident reviews strengthen future readiness by revealing gaps and refining strategies.
    Example: After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, improved building codes and detection systems helped prevent similar attacks.
    Fact: Regular reviews boost organizational readiness by 38% (DHS Report, 2022).

Addressing violence in all its forms

Violence stems from individual grievances, mental health crises, and systemic failures. Mismanaged layoffs, untreated despair, and unresolved anger often precede workplace tragedies. These aren’t just human failures; they are failures of systems to anticipate and address underlying causes.

Whether through acts of aggression or neglect, the result is the same: lives lost and families devastated. The ripple effects weaken the trust and safety we all rely on.

A unified call to action

This is not about politics. It’s about protecting life. Early intervention, systemic strategies, and a focus on prevention can save lives. Investments in technology, mental health support, and proactive training are not luxuries; they are necessities.

Brian Thompson’s death is a reminder of what’s at stake. Violence, whether sudden or systemic, reflects a failure to value life. Each tragedy compels us to ask: How do we do better? How do we prevent the next loss?

The path forward is clear: assess risks, act early, prepare for the worst and always strive to improve. When we act with empathy, clarity and purpose, we honor those we’ve lost and protect those who remain.

Every life matters. Let’s make that our foundation for action.

Massoud Amin is the chief technology officer at Renewable Energy Partners and the chairman and president of Energy Policy & Security Associates. He is also a professor emeritus and the former director and Honeywell H.W. Sweatt Chair of technological leadership at the University of Minnesota.

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Could dental students provide care for incarcerated Minnesotans?

Ben Shapiro
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Could dental students provide care for incarcerated Minnesotans?

Second-year law student Elayna Chambers became aware of the issues with prison dental care as she spoke over the phone with women incarcerated in Shakopee as part of her work at a University of St. Thomas Law clinic. 

Elayna Chambers
Elayna Chambers

Chambers recalled one woman telling her, “Don’t have anything wrong with your teeth (in prison). They’ll probably just end up pulling it out anyway.”  

Through conversations once or twice a week this semester as part of the Community Justice Project law clinic, Chambers learned more about challenges the women faced in prison. Chambers and her classmates also worked on promoting the Survivors Justice Act, in partnership with Violence Free Minnesota, a coalition of organizations focused on ending relationship abuse in the state. The legislation, which has not been passed in Minnesota, would allow judges to grant shorter sentences in cases where defendants are abuse survivors. 

“What this bill would do is give judges the flexibility to impose those sentences that are more within what justice demands than what the strict interpretation of the law and a mandatory minimum might suggest,” said Jess Palyan, policy program manager at Violence Free Minnesota.

The Survivors Justice Act, added Palyan, is just one step in abuse prevention.

“We need to make sure that the people we’re putting in (prison) are treated like human beings, so that when they come out, they are prepared to treat everybody like human beings,” Palyan said. 

Though the Minnesota Department of Corrections contracts out various aspects of health care, from physical and mental health to eye health, Chambers found that the state has no contractor for prison dental care. Instead, Chambers said, the department “just (has) dentists on staff at each prison. As we all know, Minnesota prisons and just prisons generally are under-sourced, under-resourced, understaffed, and I think that’s where these issues come in.” 

While dental care is often treated separately from general health in a medical setting, poor dental health can impact or indicate poor mental and physical wellbeing. 

“From the research I’ve been doing and speaking to the women or (with) my friends at the (University of) Minnesota School of Dentistry, dental care seems like a precursor to the rest of your overall health,” Chambers said. “If something’s not going well in there, it can affect the whole rest of your body, (along with) self-esteem issues and mental health issues and the whole process of reintegration after people are eventually released from prison. The long-term effects of dental care long outlast the length of an average prison sentence.” 

Jess Palyan
Jess Palyan

In response to her research, Chambers began developing the concept of the Boundless Dental Bus – a mobile clinic bus that would take dental students around the state to care for those currently incarcerated. Students at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Chambers said, are already required to participate in comprehensive care clinics which “serve lower-income communities at a much lower cost than private practice dentistry.” 

“Boundless Dental Bus would aim to fill that need for a contract with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, just to make sure (dental care is) more uniform and regulated throughout,” she added. 

Chambers entered her business plan for the bus into the University of St. Thomas’ Fowler Business Concept Challenge. The bus concept placed third overall, earning Chambers $4,000 in scholarships. The Boundless Dental Bus plan was also awarded the Health Equity Champion Award, which won Chambers another $2,500 in scholarships. Chambers received the awards in November. 

“(With) Elayna’s specific dental bus recommendation, you see somebody who is trying to come up with really good solutions to just try to make sure that this sense of normalcy and care (is) being provided to people who, in a lot of ways, we don’t care about (and who) in a lot of ways we kind of leave behind,” said Palyan, who, in addition to working with Elayna and two other students in the Community Justice Project law clinic, is an alum of the clinic himself. 

“Looking at ways to try to make sure those people feel more human, make sure that they feel more cared for is just phenomenal.”

Though the competition is over, Chambers is prepared to take steps to make her vision a reality. Over winter break after her finals, Chambers plans to meet with Billy Mzenga, director of the Institute for Social Innovation at St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business, to discuss next steps for the Boundless Dental Bus.

While Mzenga was not involved in the judging process for the concept challenge, he called it “an amazing idea” and would like to help her brainstorm what might come next, from networking strategically to fundraising for a pilot program at a single prison. Mzenga, who is a member of the board of All Square, a nonprofit that supports those currently and formerly incarcerated, added that Chambers’ concept resonated with him.

Billy Mzenga
Billy Mzenga

The next step for Chambers, Mzenga said, is “getting in front of the people who have (an) understanding of how the Department of Corrections works (and) have a robust understanding of how students in the school of dentistry get internships.” 

Chambers also sees the value in learning from others. 

“This was all very preliminary and basic research and business planning. I would like to speak to more people who know a lot more about the stuff than I do to see how (the Boundless Dental Bus) could become, hopefully, a reality in some way, shape, or form.”

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