Drop in San Fernando Valley homicides outpaces other L.A. regions

Los Angeles recorded another large drop in homicides in 2013, and nowhere has the trend been more pronounced than in the San Fernando Valley. The Valley had 40 homicides this year, dropping 35% from 2012 — the biggest decline of any region in the city....

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Calabasas crackdown on old homes has owners crying foul

Calabasas is known for its gated neighborhoods and its wealthy residents — people like Justin Bieber, Tommy Lee and Kourtney Kardashian. But for the last few years, the city's attention has been focused on people living in some of its oldest houses,...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Medi-Cal braces for New Year's jolt as Obamacare kicks in

It's one of the next big hurdles for the Obamacare rollout: What will happen when hundreds of thousands of low-income Californians shift from county health plans to the state's huge Medi-Cal system on Jan. 1? Judging from a similar surge in 2011, patients...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Community pushes for stoplight at intersection where teen was killed

Yaneth Palencia wrote a petition to the city's transportation department in 2005, urging officials to install a traffic signal or stop sign at the crosswalk near Normandie Avenue and 42nd Street in her neighborhood, south of downtown. "We note that...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rim fire losses between $250 million and $1.8 billion, study finds

A recent study commissioned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission estimates that damage from the Rim fire to the natural environment and to property values could total about $250 million to $1.8 billion. The preliminary assessment released...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Judge rejects contempt of court for Costa Mesa official

An Orange County Superior Court judge this month refused to hold Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger in contempt of court for revealing evidence that someone put him under surveillance, court records show. On Dec. 13, Judge David Hoffer denied...

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Resolved: to make a keep-able resolution

If my New Year's resolution holds in 2014, this is the last time I'll wind up staring blankly at my computer screen as my column deadline bears down. I've been thinking about what to write all week, in between shopping, cooking, kicking back and outings...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Accused prankster pleads not guilty to recording calls to coaches

A man accused of making prank calls to several well-known sports coaches and then illegally recording them pleaded not guilty Monday to one felony count of eavesdropping. Prosecutors have said that Kenneth Edward Tarr, 32, posed as a recruiter for pro...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

New Year's resolutions for Sacramento politicos

SACRAMENTO — From my skimpy research on New Year's resolutions, I've learned that 40% of us make them, and about 90% end in failure. A dismal record of weak will. Yet, New Year's resolutions should be encouraged because they're vital to self-improvement....

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

After Filner debacle, San Diego's Todd Gloria's picking up the pieces

SAN DIEGO — Bob Filner had just resigned as mayor after a summer of scandal and civic ridicule. As Filner departed in disgrace, Todd Gloria was busy. As City Council president, Gloria became acting mayor the minute Filner departed at 5 p.m. Aug. 30....

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Resolutions for better politics in the New Year

SACRAMENTO — Forty-five percent of Americans make New Year's resolutions, so I've read. And about 90% of those vows wind up being blown off. But we're allowed to give it another try every year. It's part of the self-improvement process, a vital acknowledgment...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Federal stance on tribal casinos touches off California fights

SACRAMENTO — Obama administration policies stimulating an expansion of tribal gambling have touched off new battles over proposed tribal casinos in California and elsewhere. Since President Barack Obama took office, the Department of the Interior has...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Judge will rule on legitimacy of jewel thief Doris Payne's bail money

A Riverside County Superior Court judge is expected to rule this week on whether the money an 83-year-old career jewel thief wants to use to post her jail bond is from a legitimate source. The hearing over Doris Payne's $65,000 bail is scheduled for...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Medi-Cal braces for New Year's jolt as Obamacare kicks in

It's one of the next big hurdles for the Obamacare rollout: What will happen when hundreds of thousands of low-income Californians shift from county health plans to the state's huge Medi-Cal system on Jan. 1? Judging from a similar surge in 2011, patients...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Community pushes for stoplight at intersection where teen was killed

Yaneth Palencia wrote a petition to the city's transportation department in 2005, urging officials to install a traffic signal or stop sign at the crosswalk near Normandie Avenue and 42nd Street in her neighborhood, south of downtown. "We note that...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rim fire losses between $250 million and $1.8 billion, study finds

A recent study commissioned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission estimates that damage from the Rim fire to the natural environment and to property values could total about $250 million to $1.8 billion. The preliminary assessment released...

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

2013: A great year for scandal, incompetence and corruption

In more ways than one, I'm sorry to see 2013 fade into the books. Thanks to a steady run of incompetence, corruption and bungling by various public officials, it was a banner year for local news in Greater Los Angeles. In other ways, I can't wait for...

22.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Veterinary nonprofit tends to animals in wake of Typhoon Haiyan

As aid workers from around the world descended on the Philippines to help the people hit hardest by Typhoon Haiyan last month, Springer Browne headed toward the devastation for a different reason: the animals. The 31-year-old Newport Beach native made...

22.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boyle Heights' Casa del Mexicano is rising again

If the building could speak, its stories would be of galas and ghosts, of rats and lucha libre matches, of decades-long feuds. The Casa del Mexicano, an 82-year-old cultural center in Boyle Heights, recently reopened its doors for this year's Christmas...

22.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Claremont church Nativity scene replaces Jesus with Trayvon Martin

On the lawn of a Claremont church, just like at many churches at this time of year, cutouts of wise men on camelback head toward a makeshift stable, a meager wooden structure where Mary and Joseph have huddled inside. But instead of an infant Jesus...

22.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Coliseum incurred big expense in trying to keep USC lease talks secret

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was flirting with insolvency, but that didn't stop its government overseers from incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenses to keep secret their deliberations on a new long-term lease for the stadium....

22.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

At this Pasadena club, moms learn English along with kids

For Maricela Ruiz, a trip to the store to pick up a few groceries or to her daughter's school felt nearly impossible. "I'd go home crying," said Ruiz, 37. She couldn't speak English, and after a few failed attempts at communication, began to wait for...

22.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Northern California counties revive an old idea for a breakaway state

YREKA, Calif. — Farmers, ranchers and onetime loggers were among those who packed a church community room here in August to listen to a former state lawmaker convey his vision of a cleaved — and more governable — California. The theme was familiar,...

22.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Korean War POW finally laid to rest

Sixty-three years after his capture during the Korean War, Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Gantt was laid to rest Saturday in an Inglewood cemetery with full military honors in the presence of his widow. Clara Gantt, 94, said she was happy that she had lived...

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Tet Festival organizers hope to lure more crowds to new venue

Organizers of the largest Tet Festival in the U.S. — an event long linked with Garden Grove — are not only moving the event, but also undertaking a robust marketing campaign in hopes of luring more immigrants and vendors to the festival's new home at...

22.25 | 0 komentar | Read More