Recently in Los Angeles Category

The head of L.A. Live challenged City Attorney Carmen Trutanich on Thursday to either file criminal charges over the Michael Jackson memorial service or apologize for hinting the company may have broken the law.Daily News.

"Prove it or drop it," AEG President Tim Leiweke said during an interview. "We can't resolve this until he declares we have done nothing wrong or apologizes -- I'll take either.

"But he has been going around for five months defaming me and our company and we did nothing wrong."

NORTHRIDGE -- Greeted by 250 saluting officers, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck on Thursday led a formal inspection of the Devonshire Division and addressed sworn staff in his first major appearance in the San Fernando Valley since becoming chief. Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

Saying he expects officers to be "open, honest and show respect," Beck told the platoons crowded around his lectern that he was proud of their hard work, and he spoke about the unrelenting demand for good teamwork at all staffing levels.

"You have to stand behind your leaders. You have to stand with your leaders," Beck said. "And you have to stand together."

Partially fueled by the election of President Barack Obama and the statewide controversy over gay marriage, hate crimes based on sexual orientation shot up 21 percent in Los Angeles County last year, while religious crimes increased 14 percent, according to a county report released Thursday.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

Although the total number of hate crimes countywide dropped 4 percent from 2007 to 2008, the rise in homophobic and religious-based hate crimes worried local advocate groups.

"The spike we saw in the gay and lesbian community can definitely be correlated to the influence of the Proposition 8 debate," said Amanda F. Susskind, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, referring to the ban on gay marriage that California voters approved last year.

One in five Angelenos between the ages of 16 and 24 is unemployed and not in school, putting a severe drain on the city's limited resources, a study released Thursday said. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Statewide, about one in 6.25 people in that age group are out of work or school, and can expect to live in poverty for about nine years, according to the study produced by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston.

"If people are living in poverty they are probably not paying taxes, they are drawing on welfare and they're more of a drain to the city," said study author Paul Harrington, a Northeastern professor

Facing their own financial crises amid the state's budget crunch, most of California's largest school districts are increasing class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, eroding the most expensive education reform in the state's history. California Watch in the Daily News.

California Watch surveyed the 30 largest K-12 districts in the state and found that many schools are pushing classroom enrollment to 24 students in some or all of the primary grades. Other districts have raised class sizes to 30 students - reverting to levels not seen in more than a decade.

In cash-strapped Los Angeles Unified, each of the district's 524 elementary schools could choose between retaining all their teachers and keeping class sizes low - or laying off teachers and retaining support staff such as nurses, math coaches and "intervention coordinators."

With their runoff election less than three weeks away, City Council candidates Paul Krekorian and Christine Essel sparred Wednesday during a spirited debate before San Fernando Valley business leaders.Daily News.

Krekorian, a Democratic Assemblyman from Valley Glen and Burbank, portrayed Essel as a candidate "beholden to downtown special interests," while Essel called Krekorian "a career politician ... looking for his third office in four years."

The two are running in the Dec. 8 special election to fill the District 2 seat vacated when Wendy Greuel was elected as city controller.

Under pressure from County District Attorney Steve Cooley, the City Council delayed action Wednesday on Los Angeles' latest medical marijuana ordinance.Daily News

Unwilling to vote on a law that would have allowed cash transactions at marijuana clinics - which Cooley said would violate California law - council members instead decided to add more than 30 changes to the proposed ordinance. One provision would limit the number of clinics in the city to 186, compared to the 800 to 1,000 operating now.

More young men and women in the San Fernando Valley want to be all they can be - in the Army - than at any time since the U.S. went to war in Iraq.Tony Castro in the Daily News.

According to statistics released Tuesday by the Army, enlistments in the Valley region jumped almost 30 percent this year as a slumping economy sparked the biggest military recruiting year in Los Angeles since the Iraq War began in 2003.

The recruiting region from Glendale to Thousand Oaks reported 573 enlistments through Sept. 31, compared with 443 during the comparable period in 2008, according to the Army. One of the biggest jumps was reported in Glendale, with an 88 percent hike.

A group representing California taxpayers gave more than half the state's lawmakers failing grades in its annual report card issued Tuesday, only months after the Legislature approved the largest tax cuts in state history.Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association gave "F" grades to 73 out of 120 Assembly members and senators, with only 29 receiving "A" grades.

Even as DWP crews scrambled to repair a water main break in Winnetka, a panel of experts reported Tuesday that corrosion, not the city's conservation program, was to blame for a spike in pipeline ruptures that have disrupted traffic and engulfed a fire truck.
Daily News.
The Department of Water and Power released the long-awaited report - developed by experts from the University of Southern California, Cornell University and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory - which blamed the breaks on corroded portions of the aging system.

The Los Angeles Police Department entered a new era Tuesday with the City Council's unanimous, 14-0, confirmation of Charlie Beck as the city's 55th chief of police.Daily News.

Beck, 56, was immediately sworn in by council President Eric Garcetti and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, allowing him to succeed former Chief Bill Bratton, who resigned two weeks ago to take a private-sector job. A public swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 3.

A 32-year veteran of the department, Beck was selected by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to take over a department that has expanded to more than 10,000 officers while the crime rate has shrunk for seven consecutive years.

Dozens of charter school operators, non-profit groups and even the teachers union have made it clear that they think they can do a better job running L.A. public schools than Los Angeles Unified bureaucrats.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

All met a Monday deadline to submit bids to operate some or all of the 36 schools up for grabs under an ambitious reform plan that lets outsiders - and insiders - take daily operational control of public schools.

"Today we have finally stopped talking about reform and we've taken a deliberate and strong step towards ending business as usual at this district," said LAUSD boardmember Yolie Flores-Aguilar, who authored the School Choice plan.

As Los Angeles Unified officials scrambled to avert up to 8,500 layoffs, leaders of the teachers' union demanded Monday that the district slash bureaucracy and disclose spending before imposing furloughs and deep pay cuts. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines announced last week that layoffs are the only way to close a looming $500 million budget deficit unless employees take a four-day furlough this year and a 12 percent pay cut next year.

A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, on Monday rejected Cortines' ultimatum, but said the union was "willing to talk" about options.

Likely delaying passage of a new medical marijuana ordinance, two City Council committees on Monday rejected the city attorney's call for an outright ban on over-the- counter cannibis sales. Daily News.

Members of the council's Public Safety and Planning and Land Use committees - clearly frustrated by the process - asked City Attorney Carmen Trutanich to review ordinances in other cities and come back with a revised ordinance when the full City Council meets Wednesday.

A fiery crowd of 1,200 crammed into the auditorium of Birmingham Community Charter High School on Sunday for a question-and-answer meeting with U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks - one of the largest turnouts ever for his town hall assemblies. Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

Angry about health care, unemployment and immigration, the audience loudly jeered and cheered as Sherman answered their questions during the 90-minute meeting that filled all 800 seats in the high school auditorium and forced residents to sit on the floor and stage or stand and listen from the lobby.