December 2008 Archives

Los Angeles County Sheriffs found no explosives at Lawndale's Will Rogers Middle School this morning, officials said.

A teacher at the 154th Street school apparently found a note stating that a bomb would explode on campus at 10 a.m. today.

Deputies searched the school and found no explosives.

A court action Wednesday allows property owners in two Rancho Palos Verdes landslide zones to construct homes on their empty lots, which the city had placed under a building moratorium three decades ago for safety reasons.

The state Supreme Court refused a request for review of a Court of Appeal decision issued in October that favored the property owners, who at trial stated their land was collectively worth $32 million. (Here's our story at the time, with background.)

The case, popularly referred to as the "Monks" case for the name of one of the property owners, is seen to have broad implications.

The appellate court decision, from Presiding Justice Robert Mallano, had ordered the city to allow development on the plaintiffs' 16 lots or pay the property owners for a "taking" of the property. 

Mallano wrote: "The city failed to meet its burden of justifying the moratorium. ... A permanent ban on home construction cannot be based on a fear of personal injury or significant property damage."

Attorney General Jerry Brown supported the city's request for the high-court review, according to a Rancho Palos Verdes press release, which follows. In refusing to review that decision, the Supreme Court allows it to stand.

UPDATE: It started with an underground cable failure linked to the transformer. Macy's and World Market remain without power.

A blown transformer knocked out power along Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance today, forcing two businesses to close and trapping one person in an elevator.

The transformer blew about 11:20 a.m. near Crate & Barrel on Hawthorne near Carson Street, Torrance fire Capt. Steve Deuel said.

The Torrance Fire Department received numerous calls and Southern California Edison responded.

"The initial outage affected the local area and was believed to be the cause of a person being trapped in an elevator for 10 minutes in an office building at 22230 Hawthorne Blvd.," Deuel said. "Firefighters assisted in rescuing the trapped person."

Smoke from the explosion drifted into the Crate & Barrel store. The business closed, along with the neighboring Bank of America branch because of the power loss.

Traffic was snarled while traffic lights were out. SCE expected to have power completely restored by Wednesday morning, Deuel said.

 

I don't know much, but a transformer blew over on Hawthorne Boulevard near the Del Amo Fashion Center.

Police say a bunch of traffic lights are out along there. I'm told the traffic is a bit of a mess.

Happy shopping!

Two men are hospitalized with severe stab wounds and two others have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a fight early this morning outside a Redondo Beach bar, police said.

The incident occurred just before 2 a.m., when police received a call about the fight near Bogey's Bar in the 2200 block of Artesia Boulevard, said Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan.

When officers arrived, the men were gone, but there was evidence of an attack.
"They found a bloody scene," Keenan said.

A few minutes later, an officer saw a black Cadillac speeding and running stop signs near 190th and Beryl streets that matched a description police had received earlier.
The car pulled into the parking lot of the Beach Cities Health District. When police arrived, they discovered the men had both been stabbed, Keenan said.

The victims, a 28-year-old Rancho Palos Verdes man and a 32-year-old Redondo Beach man, were treated by paramedics and taken to a hospital. One of them was in critical but stable condition this afternoon.

At the same time, police saw a man covered in blood wandering around the 2400 block of Vanderbilt Lane who fit a description given by the victims. Howard Harman, 52, of Redondo Beach was taken into custody.

Police were able to identify the other suspect by watching security videos taken at the bar. They set up a surveillance and arrested Jesus Munoz, 42, at his Redondo Beach home at 7:30 this morning.

Both men are being held are $1 million bail, Keenan said.

"We think there was some kind of argument that ended up outside," Keenan said. "It didn't appear they knew each other."

The cause of the fight was not known. An investigation is ongoing.

*Update: They were males and there were three others with them who did not get swept into the ocean.

The rescued person is in critical condition.

The National Weather Service says it is not a "high surf" day, but the surf is "above normal."


Original story: Three people were swept off rocks into the ocean below Point Fermin in San Pedro about 2 p.m.

Two got out of the water themselves, but firefighters rescued the third from the water.

That person was in critical condition and required cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The person was taken to a hospital.

Three people were swept off rocks into the ocean below Point Fermin in San Pedro about 2 p.m.

Two got out of the water themselves, but firefighters rescued the third from the water.

That person was in critical condition and required cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The person was taken to a hospital.