At closed event, sheriff's candidates debate department's future

At a closed-door debate in front of rank-and-file deputies, the candidates for Los Angeles County Sheriff acknowledged that the department must be reformed, but blamed management for the problems plaguing the agency.

In a recording of the members-only union event obtained by The Times, the candidates mostly took a diplomatic tone with the deputies, and at times served up the kind of red meat not often heard in front of general audiences.

Former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who has been criticized for helping foster a culture of abuse inside the jails, criticized the department's inmate education program.

"Deputies should not be teaching inmates how to read while they should be manning security posts, OK?" he said, prompting loud cheers.

In a statement to The Times, Tanaka said he wasn't opposed to educating inmates "as long as it does not take away from the limited resources which are needed to run the jails and protect the public."

In interviews afterward, the other candidates took aim at Tanaka, who seemed to be the crowd favorite based on applause. His opponents said Tanaka's comment showed his shortsightedness about the role education can play in keeping inmates from re-offending after they are released.

"To show that lack of compassion for people who can't read is exactly why I'm running," Assistant Sheriff Jim Hellmold said.

The candidates acknowledged during the debate, which took place last week, that the recent federal indictments against deputies and reports of poor hiring show that reform is needed. But they also assured the audience that they believed that a great majority of deputies follow policy.

Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers told the deputies that he took exception with some outside criticisms of the department. Some time after Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell promised to "restore that shine and that luster to the badge," Rogers said: "Others talk about our badge being tarnished. With all due respect to all of them, my star is just as shiny as it used to be, and so is yours."

"This is an amazing time and an amazing race. We have deputies doing what they're told to do and they get indicted by the federal government ... the L.A. Times keeps telling us that the Sheriff's Department needs a new leader, someone from the outside with a fresh set of eyes," said Rogers, one of the two subordinates that outgoing Sheriff Lee Baca tapped to succeed him. "Instead of a fresh set of eyes, our department needs someone with an experienced and credible set of eyes."

In an interview with The Times, Rogers defended his stance, saying that during his career with the Sheriff's Department he fought corruption from within.

All of the candidates for sheriff participated in the debate, except for Patrick Gomez, a retired lieutenant who has twice run for sheriff and lost. This year marks the first sheriff's election in recent memory without an incumbent on the ballot. Last month, Baca, who had been sheriff for four terms and was preparing to run for a fifth, abruptly stepped down amid a string of scandals.

Of the candidates at the debate, former Cmdr. Bob Olmsted took the hardest line with the deputies, warning those in attendance that "if you like the way things are, if you're not ashamed of the corruption that's going on in this department ... you're not welcome on my team and I don't need your support."

Before retiring, Olmsted was in charge of some of the sheriff's most troubled jails. He said he tried to alert top brass about inmate abuse and aggressive deputy cliques. He has said that because he was ignored, he took his concerns to the FBI and the media.

Officials from the union that hosted the debate have been openly hostile with the sheriff's current civilian monitors. During the debate, McDonnell told union members that transparency and independent oversight should not be feared.

"People will try to help us if they know what we're facing," he said.

The debate was held at the county's Hall of Administration. In a statement, the president of the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs did not address why it was closed to the media and the public, saying that the union "arranged the sheriff's candidates forum for our members to hear directly from the seven candidates"

None of the candidates expressed any significant policy opinions that contradicted their public statements. Much of the forum centered on pet issues for the rank-and-file, such as eliminating an unpopular overtime reduction plan.

At times, the debate grew awkward for the two candidates who come from other departments. Los Angeles Police Det. Lou Vince was asked whether he believed the Sheriff's Department was the best trained and most effective law enforcement agency in the country.

After some laughs from the audience, he said: "Of course I'm gonna say yes. I know where I am."

robert.faturechi@latimes.com

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One of five LAFD recruits in training class are related to department firefighters

One in five recruits in a new Los Angeles Fire Department training class are related to firefighters working at the agency, according to figures released Thursday evening.

Of the 70 recruits hired for the class now in training, 13 are sons of firefighters and three are nephews, according to figures provided to The Times by the department.

A spokesman for Mayor Eric Garcetti said an investigation was being launched to determine how 22% of the positions went to relatives of LAFD members.

"We are going to get to the bottom of this," spokesman Yusef Robb said. "This needs to be fully investigated."

The Times reported Thursday that thousands of firefighter candidates were disqualified last April from being considered because they failed to submit a key piece of paperwork in a 60-second period.

Applicants who passed a written exam were told that they could submit certificates showing they completed a physical fitness test starting at 8 a.m. April 22. After a crush of thousands of certificates poured in, Personnel Department managers said they decided to winnow down their review of potential recruits to those who had filed the form in the first minute.

The screening process is drawing fire from candidates who said they were unfairly passed over and from city officials, including interim LAFD Chief James G. Featherstone.

"This recruitment process was in place prior to the current chief's arrival and is wholly unacceptable to him," said Featherstone's spokesman, Peter Sanders.

Critics and applicants who didn't submit their physical exam records quickly enough said qualified people, including some with paramedic and firefighting experience, were arbitrarily and unfairly passed over.

Capt. Frank Lima, president of the union representing Los Angeles firefighters, faulted personnel officials for overseeing a process that he said failed to give every candidate an equal opportunity at landing a job. "The Personnel Department is largely to blame," he said.

Personnel Department managers have defended the process, saying it was in line with past hiring practices and ensured an impartial selection.

Earlier Thursday, Featherstone said he was personally working with the Personnel Department to overhaul the recruit screening process. "It just didn't look right," he said. "It just didn't make sense to me."

The chief's comments came during a wide-ranging discussion of the agency with Times' editors and reporters that included Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilman Mitchell Englander, chairman of the Public Safety Committee. The officials outlined a range of department reforms and innovations they say are needed, including getting firefighters to medical emergencies quicker, improving use of technology and data analyses, and merging two separate 911 call centers operated by the fire and police departments.

The mayor reiterated concerns about the LAFD hiring process, saying more must be done to boost the percentage of female firefighters, which for decades has remained at just under 3%.

Referring to a new class of recruits that included just one woman — proportionally less than 1.5% — the mayor said, "Don't tell me we can't get 3%." A steady, concerted campaign will be required to encourage women to apply, he said. "Who would want to be a woman on this department when the numbers are so low?"

More than 250 women passed the March written exam, city records show. Only 21 remained after the 60-second cutoff of paperwork in April, and advanced to LAFD interviews. Only one was selected for the new training class, which is 60% white.

Richard Rodriguez said he was working as a paramedic for a private ambulance service in Riverside County on April 22 and prepared to send his physical fitness certification via email from a computer. But shortly before 8 a.m., he said, he had to respond to an emergency medical call and didn't return until about an hour later. He submitted his exam, but it was too late.

"I've tried to do everything to perfect myself for the job," Rodriguez, 25, said Thursday. "It was a total bummer."

robert.lopez@latimes.com

ben.welsh@latimes.com

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Activists urge L.A. City Council to ban fracking and acidizing

In the morning while walking to her car, Michelle Kennedy sometimes detects a smell like cat urine. The asthma her 6-year-old suffers seems to have worsened.

Kennedy blames the oil and gas wells pumping in and near her South Los Angeles neighborhood. She was especially troubled to hear that acid was being injected in some shafts roughly a mile from her home.

Now Los Angeles could put a stop to several practices that Kennedy and her neighbors have lobbied against, at least inside its city limits. The City Council will discuss Friday whether to start drafting rules that prohibit all forms of "well stimulation" until they are sure that Angelenos and the water they drink are safe.

Environmental activists argue that acidizing, hydraulic fracturing and other controversial methods used to coax oil and gas from wells can taint water or trigger earthquakes when wastewater is injected back underground. Under an existing proposal backed by several council members, such technologies would be barred until state and federal regulations adequately protect people from their effects.

"We can't allow the safety of our neighborhoods that we represent to be jeopardized by dangerous drilling," Councilman Mike Bonin said at a packed committee meeting on Tuesday.

Hydraulic fracturing, often referred to as fracking, uses injections of water mixed with chemicals to break up underground rock, freeing oil and natural gas trapped in the shale. Local activists point to health complaints and cracking walls in homes close to county wells where fracking has already taken place.

Acidizing, which appears to be more common in the city, routinely uses chemicals including hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid. Such chemicals can harm the skin and eyes, as well as respiratory and other bodily systems, said Angela Johnson Meszaros, general counsel for Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles. To stimulate production, "tens of thousands of pounds of acid are being pumped into these wells," she said.

When a neighbor told Lillian Marenco that acid had been used at nearby wells, she clapped her hands over her cheeks. "Oh, God," she said. A pungent smell lingers over the South Los Angeles home where Marenco lovingly tends her garden, down the block from a Jefferson Boulevard drilling site.

Acid has been used for "well stimulation" there in the last year, according to data reported to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. But disagreements swirl over what that means. The company that operates those wells, Freeport-McMoRan, says it undertook "routine maintenance operations" using low volumes of acid, not "acidizing" as activists have insisted.

The debate underscores a key question the city will face if it crafts an ordinance: How exactly to word it.

The "generic scope" of the existing Los Angeles proposal "could prohibit even routine well maintenance activities needed to ensure the mechanical integrity of wells and maintain conventional oil production," Freeport-McMoRan spokesman Eric Kinneberg wrote in an email to The Times.

Oil and gas companies argue that fracking and other well stimulation technologies are safe, proven ways to yield more energy and generate jobs. Nick Ortiz of the Western States Petroleum Assn. told council members at the Tuesday meeting that such methods had "never been associated with any confirmed case of groundwater contamination." Business groups such as the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. also contended that Los Angeles doesn't need to roll out new rules because California lawmakers passed regulations on fracking last year.

"This is a solution looking for a problem," said Rock Zierman, chief executive of the California Independent Petroleum Assn. He pointed to a yearlong study of the Inglewood Oil Field, which found that hydraulic fracturing there had no effect on the environment or the health of people living nearby.

Environmental watchdogs countered that the Inglewood study failed to examine risks in the long term, such as chemicals possibly sullying groundwater. Other research has raised concerns, including a study published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which found much higher levels of methane in drinking water wells close to fracking operations in Pennsylvania. As for the state regulations mentioned by business groups, environmentalists say they didn't go far enough.

Under the new state law, "we're basically telling people, 'Let yourself be guinea pigs and we'll study this. If this is a problem, we'll tell you after the fact,'" said Brenna Norton, Southern California organizer for the environmental group Food & Water Watch.

If Los Angeles halts fracking and other well stimulation, it will be the first oil-producing city in California to ban the technologies, according to Zierman. Other cities and counties have already thrown their support to a statewide ban or moratorium, including Carson and Culver City.

Many local wells that use such techniques lie outside the city limits: Data reported to the air quality district since last summer show that acidizing, gravel packing or hydraulic fracturing have been used in at least 218 wells in the county, but only 17 are in the city of Los Angeles, according to a Times analysis. None of the city wells reported any hydraulic fracturing during that period.

People on both sides of the debate raise questions about the data: Zierman said the air quality district inaccurately categorizes the use of acid in "routine maintenance" as "acidizing." Environmental activists, meanwhile, think the data may be incomplete since it is reported by the oil and gas companies themselves.

The numbers underscore that for areas like Baldwin Hills near the Inglewood Oil Field, "it wouldn't do much until the county steps up and does something," said Gary Gless, president of Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community. "But I think it will put pressure on the county to do the right thing." Backers say a Los Angeles ban would also help spur a statewide moratorium.

Los Angeles currently has 1,880 active and 2,932 abandoned oil and gas wells, according to the state Department of Conservation. Zierman argued that preventing techniques such as acidizing could eventually push drilling away entirely, since "we have to be constantly reworking those wells to keep production up."

That sounds fine to some activists, who see drilling as incompatible with dense residential neighborhoods. "We're thinking they'll pack up and go home," said Donna Ann Ward, a West Adams resident and founder of the grass-roots group Cowatching Oil L.A. Without tools like fracking, "there's no money in it."

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Times staff writer Doug Smith contributed to this report.

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Gov. Jerry Brown wants polluters' fees to help fund high-speed rail

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown wants long-term funding for California's high-speed rail project to come from the state greenhouse gas reduction program, expanding his commitment to the $68-billion project despite an ongoing legal battle.

His plan would annually shift a third of all "cap-and-trade" revenue, generated through fees on polluters, to help build the first leg of the rail line, which is supposed to stretch from Merced to the San Fernando Valley by 2022.

The proposal could provide billions of dollars for the bullet train over the next several years, although administration officials have not released specific estimates

"We believe it will be a growing source of revenue," said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for Brown's Department of Finance.

Brown hinted at his plans in January, when he proposed spending $250 million in cap-and-trade money on the rail project in the fiscal year that begins July 1. His latest proposal would guarantee more money for the project each year until the first leg is completed.

In addition, as the state repays $500 million it borrowed from the cap-and-trade fund over the next few years, $400 million would be made available for high-speed rail.

Voter-approved bonds for the bullet train have been held up by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny, who said the state had failed to provide an adequate funding plan to start construction. An appeals court is considering the Brown administration's request to overturn the rulings.

Environmentalists and legislative analysts have questioned the wisdom of using the funds, saying cap-and-trade money should be committed to more immediate, tangible projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"The best use of the cap-and-trade funds is to invest them in projects that are out there now" — such as improving energy efficiency — "that can get us near-term emission reductions," said Sierra Club California Director Kathryn Phillips.

Legislative analysts and some lawmakers have questioned the legality of using the money for the train, which won't help the state meet its goal of cutting emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

"We have concerns about the administration making this legally questionable move a permanent component of the high-speed rail budget," said Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for Assembly Republicans.

Administration officials say building the bullet train is a valid use of cap-and-trade funding because the project will help reduce emissions in the long run.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) has said he's open to Brown's proposal "if it's part of a credible funding plan" for completing the project.

The rail project has long been dogged by doubts over its funding. California voters approved a $9-billion bond measure for it in 2008, and the Obama administration provided an additional $3.2 billion in grants.

But the combined $12.2 billion would cover only a small fraction of the system's projected $68-billion construction cost.

If the state ultimately sells the bonds and lawmakers approve use of the cap-and-trade revenue, the project will still need significant new federal grants and investments by the private sector.

In Washington, House Republicans have vowed to stop future funding and are attempting to claw back past grants, asserting that the state has violated the terms of the federal contributions.

And the state has not begun to solicit private investors, saying that it has to start operating a partial system before they would have enough confidence to write checks.

Officials dismiss all of these risks as normal parts of an ambitious major infrastructure project, and they have vowed to stay the course.

The state hopes to start construction of a 29-mile segment through Fresno by July, putting the project about a year and half behind a schedule announced in 2012.

chris.megerian@latimes.com

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

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San Gabriel Mountain dams could get major fill-up from storm system

The reservoirs behind 14 major dams that line the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains — nearly empty after two years of drought — could rise significantly from the forecasted deluge over the next three days, public works officials said.

The storm system could drop up to 6 inches of rain, which would dramatically reverse the current conditions, in which water levels are 70 feet below the maximum in some cases, officials said.

Although there is no danger the dams will be breached, officials on Thursday still guarded against the possibility of mudslides in fire-ravaged areas.

In response to the possibility of debris flows from areas burned in January's Colby fire, Azusa and Glendora issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents whose homes are nestled along the foothills.

In Glendora, 1,000 homes were in the path of possible mudslides. City officials want to avoid a repeat of a 1969 mudslide disaster that killed 34 people and destroyed 200 homes.

A relatively small storm Thursday deposited about 1,000 acre-feet of water — worth $1 million on the wholesale market — in the aquifers under Los Angeles.

The system over the next three days will probably deposit a windfall behind the dams that typically hold a third of Los Angeles County's water supply, said Adam Walden, senior civil engineer at the public works department.

"Right now, we have a lot of room in our system and the goal is not to let anything escape to the ocean," he said.

Because of the vast drainage from the mountains surrounding the L.A. Basin, the dams could fill at a stunning rate.

It's happened before.

In 2005, Morris Dam — the 1930s-era Art Deco structure that holds back the San Gabriel River — was full to the top, with water blasting through its penstocks and pouring uncontrolled down its concrete spillway.

The lower San Gabriel River was carrying 24,000 cubic feet of water per second, more than the average unconstrained flow of the Colorado River.

A little farther to the east, a rain gauge in San Antonio Canyon recorded rainfall of 90 inches that year, vastly more than any major U.S. city gets in an average year. In Devore Canyon, a debris flow sent refrigerator-size boulders down residential streets. People were skiing on Mt. Baldy until July 4.

And that was far from the heaviest potential downpour.

Someday, Southern California is expected to experience a "maximum probable flood." An atmospheric river would drop up to 20 inches of rain in 24 hours, filling every reservoir to capacity and sending so much water down the major rivers that they would overtop levees and leave large parts of the low-lying basin underwater, according to official projections.

"There is no system that can handle that," said Cuong Ly, chief hydrologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "It hasn't happened, but that doesn't mean it won't happen."

The dams' capacity has been limited by the tons of sand, rock and other debris that washed down after the 2009 Station fire.

At Devil's Gate Dam in Pasadena, so much debris is clogging the reservoir that it could fill the Rose Bowl about four times over. Hauling the stuff out would require about one truck per minute over a 12-hour day for the next five years, according to a draft plan by the county.

And that's just one dam. By 2032 the county will have to find a way to get rid of debris that could fill the Rose Bowl 170 times over.

"The system is unsustainable," said Tim Brick, managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, a nonprofit environmental group.

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New Orleans police seeking former NFL player Darren Sharper

New Orleans police have obtained an arrest warrant for former NFL football player Darren Sharper, who is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting two women in Los Angeles and raping two others in New Orleans.

In addition to Sharper, detectives and investigators with the Orleans Parish district attorney's office obtained an arrest warrant for 26-year-old Eric Nunez, described as an acquaintance of the former football player.

Sharper, who has been suspended as an NFL Network analyst, is now accused of raping at least eight women in four states and committing a sexual battery in Miami.

New Orleans police had previously said they were investigating a rape allegation against Sharper. Now, police say two woman were assaulted by Sharper, both on the night of Sept. 23.

"New information uncovered also indicates that Nunez allegedly raped both women at the same location," department spokesman Remi Braden said in a statement.

Aggravated rape carries a potential prison sentence of hard labor for life in Louisiana, authorities said.

Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Sharper with two counts of rape and five other drug charges in connection with two incidents in October and January. He also is being investigated in cases in Las Vegas; Tempe, Ariz.; and another in New Orleans.

Sharper, 38, who has pleaded not guilty, was ordered last week to surrender his passport, stay in Los Angeles, avoid bars and nightclubs that sell alcohol, and not be alone with any woman he met after Oct. 30. He is free on $1-million bail.

"We look forward to the true facts being revealed in this case and we are hopeful that Mr. Sharper will be fully exonerated before this case is concluded," Blair Berk, one of Sharper's attorneys, previously said.

Court documents show a pattern in the incidents, which occurred between Sept. 22 and Jan. 15.

Victims reported meeting the five-time Pro Bowl player — usually at a nightclub — then going back to his hotel room or home.

Sharper offered the women shots to drink, after which they reported immediately blacking out, according to the records. Many of the women woke up with little or no memory of what happened after the drinks, but believed they had been sexually assaulted, authorities said.

kate.mather@latimes.com

richard.winton@latimes.com

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Cemetery accused of damaging burial vaults settles suit for $35 million

A $35-million settlement was approved Thursday in a class action suit that could affect 25,000 families who have loved ones buried at a Mission Hills cemetery where employees were accused of damaging burial containers and discarding human remains.

The nine plaintiffs who represented the class alleged that over a period of 25 years, groundskeepers at Eden Memorial Park routinely broke burial vaults to make room for new graves and were instructed to throw the bones and human remains that fell out into a dump on the property.

According to the complaint, the cemetery attempted to maximize its profits by squeezing in as many graves as possible, leaving at most 3 inches of space in between them. Groundskeepers were thus unable to dig new graves without disturbing adjacent protective burial vaults. The complaint also cited an incident in which a human skull was allegedly thrown away.

Much of the case rested on an internal memo drawn up during a meeting with four Eden Memorial groundskeepers during an October 2007 interment verification training run by the cemetery's owner and operator, Service Corporation International. A behemoth in the funeral industry, the Houston-based SCI has a network of funeral, cremation and cemetery services across the country.

During the training, groundskeepers mentioned how they did things at Eden Memorial and were pulled into an office by administrators. An assistant took notes and later drafted the memo.

"They are told to make vaults/caskets fit regardless of the size of the grave. 'Making it fit' included breaking the vaults or caskets to allow room for the new interment," the memo read. "All four groundsmen agreed when they said they fear if the public were to find out about this that the park would be closed and they would all lose their jobs."

The employees also said that some remains were thrown out after vaults were broken and that they were told "the only thing that matters is closing the deal/sale even if it means breaking vaults and caskets to make the new one fit," according to the memo, which was presented as evidence in the case.

The defense denied the allegations and argued that numerous inspections did not find proof of damaged vaults.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed in 2009, state officials said they had found no evidence of mass grave disturbances at Eden Memorial.

SCI has faced similar allegations at two Florida cemeteries. In 2003, the Florida attorney general filed criminal charges against the company, a vice president and a superintendent. The attorney general charged that vaults and caskets were destroyed by backhoes because the same plot had been sold twice and that remains were scattered in adjacent fields. The company paid more than $100 million in settlements with families.

Steven Gurnee, who represented SCI in the Eden Memorial case, said the company was confident in its defense but decided to settle because the trial was dragging on. Three people had been called to the witness stand since testimony began two weeks ago in Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Marc Marmaro's courtroom.

"It made economic sense to dispose of the case," Gurnee said. "Had it proceeded to a verdict, we would have prevailed."

Michael Avenatti, who represents the plaintiffs, said settlement negotiations had been off and on for a number of months before the parties reached an agreement.

"This is no coupon settlement," he said. "It has been a very long and difficult case but the most rewarding of my career. It was humbling to represent these families because of what they've been through and the amount of faith they've put in our firm."

The settlement of $35,250,000 will grant refunds to plaintiffs who wish to disinter their loved ones as well as those who have pre-purchased unused burial plots. Others who decide to keep their grave at Eden Memorial are also eligible to submit a claim. Plaintiffs will be allowed to conduct a re-sanctification ceremony. The figure also includes attorney fees, and a $20,000 payment to each of the class representatives.

SCI is required take measures that will prevent the alleged problems from occurring in the future, such as using metal rods to probe the grave and determine where it is safe to dig. In addition, it must provide notice and conduct repairs if a damaged burial container is discovered. SCI must disclose to future customers the risk of damage when making interments. Avenatti estimates those measures will cost the company an additional $45 million or more.

The settlement is scheduled to be finalized May 15.

corina.knoll@latimes.com

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California Legislature sends drought relief package to Gov. Brown

SACRAMENTO — A $687.4-million emergency drought relief package is on its way to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk after easily clearing the Legislature on Thursday.

Brown and legislative leaders unveiled the proposal last week to free up the state's water supplies and aid residents who face hardship due to the drought.

"Today we provide significant relief," state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said in a floor speech. "This is a lot of money and will help thousands of California families dealing with the drought."

Although recent storms have offered slight relief, the state has been suffering from dramatically parched conditions. Last year was the driest calendar year on record in California.

The proposal would direct $15 million to address water scarcity. The state Department of Public Health last week identified 10 rural areas at risk of acute drinking water shortages due to the drought.

The two-bill package also would provide $25.3 million in food aid and $21 million in housing assistance for those affected by the lengthy dry spell. It would expedite funding for projects to improve conservation, clean up contaminated ground water, and make irrigation more efficient.

The plan also would stiffen penalties for those who illegally divert water.

The bulk of the package, $549 million, would be funded through borrowing already approved by voters. Forty million would come from fees the state collects on polluters and the remainder from the state's general fund.

The relief package follows $160 million in federal aid for farmers, cattle ranchers and others harmed by the drought that President Obama promised while touring the San Joaquin Valley this month.

Ann Notthoff, California advocacy director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, commended the package, saying it reflected "the desire of Californians to invest in measures to squeeze the most water out of the supplies we have on hand."

But Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, said there's more to be done.

"Any assistance is appreciated, but it doesn't solve the long-term water supply challenges California faces," he said. "We just don't want the public to get the idea that this is fixing California's water situation."

Assemblyman Frank Bigelow (R-O'Neals), who supported the plan, voiced similar concerns on the Assembly floor.

"We are proposing to spend a lot of money for a public relations campaign and some relief effort for those hit hardest," Bigelow said. "But we haven't produced any water."

Republican Sen. Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) also voted for the bill but likened it to "a Band-Aid on a shark bite."

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) vowed that more action was coming.

"The package today is the first step," Skinner said. "It is not the only, and it is not the last. It is the first step to deal with an urgent crisis."

The legislation, SB 103 and SB 104, passed both houses by wide bipartisan margins. But other water battles, typically fought along geographical rather than partisan lines, loom.

Lawmakers have been trying to rework an $11-billion bond measure to address water infrastructure that is set to go before voters in November, for example. Some fear it carries too high a price tag and have introduced alternative measures.

Steinberg told reporters Thursday that he wanted to pare the measure to $7 billion to $9 billion, so it has a better chance of passing.

"Certainly the drought and water issues have the people's attention," he said. "We need the bond, and we ought to do everything we can reasonably do to amend the current bond and put it before the voters and pass it."

melanie.mason@latimes.com

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

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Monitor on Wilmington home's roof to provide air-quality answers

Japheth Peleti has no shortage of unpleasant stories from decades of living across a fence from a sprawling oil refinery.

He and his family have contended with rumbling noises that rattle their windows, coped with skunk-like odors, plumes of vapor and smoke and seen their whole block lighted up at night from the orange glow of refinery flares. "We're so used to it that it's become a normal part of life," Peleti said.

For nearly as long, the 48-year old has suspected air pollution from the Phillips 66 refinery is one reason most of his family suffers from asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Now, they will be getting some answers from a shoe-box-sized air quality monitor mounted on their roof.

The low-cost, solar-powered device will gather real-time data on air pollution in this working-class neighborhood near the Port of Los Angeles, measuring concentrations of nitrogen oxides, fine particles and other pollutants as well as noise, temperature and humidity. The data will be posted online for public viewing.

The monitoring is part of a government-funded project launched Wednesday by Wilmington environmental group Coalition For a Safe Environment.

The initiative includes a website and mobile application for residents to lodge complaints of bad air, illegal dumping, chemical spills and other environmental problems. A task force of community and government representatives will meet monthly to review complaints and outcomes.

A related, 18-month study by cancer researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health will assess the neighborhood's levels of benzene, a carcinogenic compound released into the air by oil refineries.

The project, called the Los Angeles Community Environmental Enforcement Network is the latest to focus on environmental hazards facing Wilmington, a neighborhood of more than 50,000 residents boxed in by the port complex, rail lines, industrial operations and three of Southern California's six major oil refineries.

The 87% Latino neighborhood has long been a battleground for environmental activists. Jesse Marquez, executive director of Coalition for a Safe Environment, said the new emphasis on collecting data from fence-line residents in Wilmington differs from past campaigns, which have relied on community meetings, door-to-door visits and fliers.

The monitors and online reporting system are being paid for with $30,000 in state and federal grant money. The state Department of Toxic Substances Control said it has assigned a staff scientist to help route complaints to the appropriate agencies.

The project is the fifth community-based reporting system launched in California in recent years, after similar efforts in the Coachella and Imperial valleys and Fresno and Kern counties. Wilmington will be the first to incorporate a home air pollution monitor. The group hopes to install more in neighborhoods adjacent to rail yards, port operations, refineries and other major polluters.

Wilmington ranks among the top 5% of communities with the highest pollution exposure in the state, according to a recent analysis by California environmental agencies. The main polluters are trucks and ships at the port and refineries that air quality regulators say are among the top five sources of smog-forming emissions in the Los Angeles Basin.

Under rules from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, refineries must monitor emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, submit annual reports and undergo inspections at least every week. Restrictions on flaring — when refineries burn off gases to relieve pressure during a shutdown, start-up or maintenance — have cut the facilities' sulfur oxide emissions by 96% since 2000, air quality officials said.

"Our refinery regulations are the toughest in the country and, perhaps, the world," said Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the air district.

Atwood said the district expects results this year from a separate study it commissioned into the possible use of remote sensors similar to the one on the Peleti family's roof to monitor pollution levels near refineries.

In a statement, Phillips 66 said that while it is in compliance with its permit limits set by the air district, "we continuously strive to reduce emissions. Since 2008, we have lowered diesel usage in equipment by 75%, thus decreasing particulate matter released."

The Peleti family said they welcomed any new information on those emissions.

"I know the air is polluted," said Sarah Meafua, Peleti's 39-year-old sister. "I'd just like to see the results."

tony.barboza@latimes.com

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Gold coins found in Northern California worth more than $10 million

Ten paces north of the angular rock on a hill, a rusty can hangs from a tree that marks the spot. More than 100 years ago, someone chose the space below to stash away their fortune — $28,000 in U.S. gold coins. They stayed concealed there, buried in eight tin cans, until John and Mary came upon them last year on their daily walk.

They had struck gold. And when they realized it, the Northern California couple dug a hole in their wood pile, placed the 1,400 coins in bags and boxes in an old ice chest and buried them again.

The pair had walked the path on their gold country property for years before they spotted the edge of a rusty can peeking out of the moss last February. When the lid cracked off, they found dirt-encrusted coins, some in better condition than those on display in museums.

"I looked around over my shoulder to see if someone was looking at me — I had the idea of someone on horseback in my head. It's impossible to describe really, the strange reality of that moment," John said in an interview transcript. The couple, identified by numismatic firm Kagin's Inc., has chosen to remain anonymous — perhaps until they turn 80, in four decades, Mary joked.

The "Saddle Ridge Hoard," named for the space on their property, may be the most valuable cache ever found in North America, with an estimated value of more than $10 million. If you melted the coins, the gold alone would be worth $2 million, said David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Services in Newport Beach, who recently authenticated them.

All dated between 1847 and 1894, 13 of the coins are the finest of their kind. One "miraculous coin," an 1866 $20 piece made in San Francisco and missing "In God We Trust," could bring $1 million on its own, Hall said. When the motto was added to the coin in 1866, some were still minted without the phrase, he said.

Had the couple attempted to clean the delicate surface of the piece, they could have reduced the value to $7,000 or $8,000 in under a minute, said David McCarthy, senior numismatist for Kagin's, who evaluated the hoard.

Buried treasure is something everyone can relate to, and the discovery has generated buzz among regular folks as well as coin collectors. The last big find was uncovered in 1985 in Jackson, Tenn. It had a face value of $4,500 and was eventually sold for around $1 million.

"It's sort of a dream I didn't even know I had coming true. It's the sort of thing, I wouldn't have the audacity to think I would ever be able to handle a deal like this," said McCarthy, who spent 31/2 months conserving one coin at a time.

Most of the hoard will be sold on Amazon.com to allow a broader swath of the public to access them, McCarthy said. The couple, who will donate some of the profit to charity, said the find will allow them to keep their property.

"A lot of people see stuff like this and all they see are dollar signs," McCarthy said. "If I got to bestow these treasures on people, I would do that on this family without even blinking an eye."

Though they attempted to track down who could have buried the treasure, the family was stymied. The area is secluded; anyone could have stashed it there, McCarthy said.

The coins are a time capsule. People in San Francisco were concerned with staying alive and feeding themselves back then, not preserving these coins for posterity, Hall said. Someone who somehow had a lot of money needed to keep it safe at a time when banks weren't always a sure thing, he said.

"It was the Wild West, so the coins weren't saved," he said. "Who knows why he did it? Maybe he did it and died before telling someone or maybe he moved or maybe he was just trying to hide money from his wife."

John and Mary said they hope to honor the history of the coins by selling them together, rather than bit-by-bit, even though it's more risky for them personally. They'll keep a small cross section of the treasure to leave for relatives when they pass on.

samantha.schaefer@latimes.com

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Calderon should get out of town without pay

SACRAMENTO—Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. That's the American way.

But it doesn't mean that anyone who has not been found guilty is qualified to hold public office.

Specifically right now, it doesn't mean that a corruption suspect is fit to occupy a seat in the state Legislature.

It only means that Sen. Ronald S. Calderon (D-Montebello) — if he can make bail, which he has — shouldn't be locked up without being convicted.

It shouldn't entitle him to continue drawing his $95,291 annual salary.

The California Constitution gives each legislative house the power to "judge the qualifications … of its members" and by a two-thirds vote expel anyone.

Senators should be asking themselves whether this house embarrassment, Calderon, who has pleaded not guilty, really is qualified to be a colleague.

How comfortable are they — Democrats and Republicans — sharing membership in their august club with someone who has been indicted on 24 federal counts of bribery, money laundering, filing false tax returns and other forms of corruption?

If they're not, they should exercise their constitutional authority to give him the boot. His alleged crimes strike at the heart of democracy and further erode public trust in representative government, especially in the Legislature.

Yes, we all mouth the theory about someone remaining innocent until proven guilty. But I don't know of anyone who believes Calderon can beat all 24 raps and be totally exonerated. He's a walking corpse politically.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) on Monday gave Calderon one week to resign or take a leave of absence. If he doesn't, Steinberg said, there'll be a vote to suspend him.

"Given the seriousness of charges," Steinberg said, "Sen. Calderon's continued service is a cloud over all the important work that we must get done this year."

But the problem with taking a leave or being suspended is that the suspect would still be entitled to his public pay, even if not his $163 daily expense allowance. Any leave should be unpaid. It shouldn't be a paid vacation.

The Senate apparently doesn't have the power to withhold pay unless there's a resignation or ouster.

But Calderon could opt not to take a salary — as mega-millionaire Arnold Schwarzenegger did when he was governor.

Actually, I feel the same about Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood). Last month, a jury found him guilty of a far lesser crime: eight felony counts of perjury and voter fraud that involved lying about where he lived.

Wright should have known better than to claim a rented room in an Inglewood house that he has owned for 37 years — and occasionally lived in — as his official "domicile." When not in Sacramento, he actually lived in a Baldwin Park house outside his district.

But Wright's domicile — his official home — needed to be in the Senate district in order for him to run to represent it in the Legislature. It's a screwy law. Once elected, he could have legally moved outside the district and, a few years later, scooted back in temporarily to seek reelection.

"The law itself is arguably ambiguous," Steinberg told reporters Monday. "Members of both houses face similar situations. One district attorney prosecutes and another doesn't."

Says political consultant David Townsend, who advises mainly moderate Democrats: "When I think about all the legislators who have not lived in their districts and this guy gets hit with eight felonies, it's just not right."

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In a matter of seconds, qualified applicants lose out on LAFD jobs

For thousands of people seeking coveted spots at the Los Angeles Fire Department last year, it all came down to April 22.

They had passed a written exam and a grueling physical agility test and now had to turn in their paperwork, which officials would use to help determine who got jobs. The applicants were told certificates showing they'd passed the physical fitness test "would be processed in the order it was received" beginning at 8 a.m. that day.

The onslaught of records came via email and fax, but also from those who had lined up at the city's downtown personnel office to get their forms stamped.

But what the applicants didn't know beforehand was how crucial speed would become in determining if they had a chance at one of 70 open slots. An overwhelming majority would be quietly eliminated from consideration not because they weren't qualified, but because their physical fitness test record wasn't deemed to have arrived within the first 60 seconds. City officials say they later decided they would take what they got in that first minute and set the rest aside to avoid having to evaluate thousands of submissions.

The screening process has been sharply criticized by Mayor Eric Garcetti for being poorly designed and lacking transparency. Applicants on social media have expressed confusion about the process. Among other things, critics say the system undermined the city's ability to ensure the best qualified candidates would make it to through the selection process.

Questions about hiring practices follow other political and management challenges at the department, including its efforts to improve medical response times and the performance of its 911 dispatch center, as well as reduce employee discrimination and bias lawsuits that have cost taxpayers $20 million since 2005.

City officials say they will reexamine procedures for LAFD hiring, which could pick up in coming years with a recovering economy.

But Personnel Department managers defend the screening process, saying the 1-minute cutoff was a fair way to winnow down the field of candidates who would advance to in-person interviews to a more manageable number of just under 1,000. And the procedure was in line with past LAFD hiring practices, they noted. "The first-come, first-serve method that was used ensured an impartial acceptance process," said Gloria Sosa, an assistant general manager at the city agency, which worked with fire officials to oversee the process.

The city began its effort to form a new training class last March with the written civil service exam.

More than 6,500 applicants who passed were told they could submit a physical agility certification starting April 22 at 8 a.m.

A surge of filings that morning caught officials off guard, Sosa said. "We didn't think that we would have that many."

Nearly 3,000 test certificates were submitted by the end of the first day and more have continued to arrive since. Officials say they've stopped counting and have no idea how many candidates filed the paperwork.

Applicants weren't advised beforehand that a first-come numerical limit would be applied. But officials knew that fewer than 1,000 people would be interviewed, said Tina Rodriguez, a manager who helped run the process. To reach that goal, city officials chose to limit interviews to the 965 applicants whose test certificates arrived in the first 60 seconds.

Comments from applicants about problems with filing their certificates by email, and allegations that candidates with paramedic and firefighting experience were never interviewed, began appearing on the LAFD's Facebook recruiting page last spring.

"Something doesn't add up," wrote one applicant who said he had a paramedic license.

Alaina LaVella, 26, who attended UC Irvine and said she holds firefighter and emergency medical technician certifications, was among those who passed the March written exam.

She said she had no idea how critical it was to submit the test form that April morning. She'd recently given birth to a son and was still recovering and preparing for the physical exam. She said she submitted the form 10 days later, the day she passed the test.

"It is really disheartening," LaVella said. "They are missing out on people who are really qualified."

More than 250 women passed the March written exam, according to records obtained by The Times under the California Public Records Act. Just 21 of those beat the one-minute filing mark in April and were interviewed. In the end, only one was hired for the class of recruits now training at the LAFD's drill tower in Panorama City.

The makeup of the class, which is 60% white, has intensified calls by city leaders for reforms in a city that has a majority of Latino, African American and Asian American residents.

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2 sheriff candidates find Web domains containing their names were touting a rival

When Jim Hellmold decided to run for sheriff of Los Angeles County last month, he knew that one of the first things his campaign needed was a website. He figured JimHellmoldForSheriff.com would make the most sense.

Except when he typed the address into his browser it took him to an already established site promoting one of his competitors: former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka.

So he tried another: JimHellmold2014.com.

Again, he was directed to a site promoting Tanaka.

"I was left with 'Hellmold-the-number-four-sheriff-dot-com," the assistant sheriff said. "I look rinky-dink."

Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell, who decided to run for sheriff around the same time, was having a similar experience. Basic domain names with his name were already taken and leading him to a site for Tanaka.

McDonnell and Hellmold said they suspected Tanaka was behind the caper, an accusation Tanaka's campaign denied.

"Apparently he bought everything he thought I wanted," McDonnell said. "I was disappointed. I thought, you know what, we're all cops trying to run for a job and hopefully we respect each other. I don't think he should have done that."

Reached by The Times on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Tanaka's campaign said staffers there did not know who was behind the websites.

"We will reach out to our supporters to make sure that if one of them has done this, they stop immediately," spokeswoman Kelsey Eiben said. "It's not above board and it's not the kind of campaign we're going to run."

Within an hour of The Times' conversation with Eiben, the sites were down.

Eiben said the campaign contacted the Web hosting company and asked that the sites be taken down because they were not authorized by the campaign.

A check of who registered the domains did not turn up who was responsible, but listed the date the sites were created as Jan. 7 — the same day Baca announced he was retiring. At that time a number of higher-profile candidates, including McDonnell and Hellmold, began seriously considering entering the race.

"It struck me as juvenile," Hellmold said of the prank.

McDonnell, like Hellmold, had to settle for a less than ideal Web address, much lengthier than he said he would have liked.

"I wanted it as simple as possible but they were all gone," he said.

Last year Tanaka was pushed by Baca to step down as the agency's second-in-command amid allegations that he encouraged overly aggressive policing, prized loyalty over merit and mismanaged sheriff's resources.

Soon after being pushed out, Tanaka announced he was running to replace his old boss. He has since secured a string of endorsements from local elected officials and has raised more than $380,000, according to his campaign.

robert.faturechi@latimes.com

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Google ordered to take anti-Muslim video off its platforms

SAN FRANCISCO — In a ruling that a dissenting judge called "unprecedented," a federal appeals court ordered Google Inc. on Wednesday to take down an anti-Muslim video that an actress said forced her to leave her home because of death threats.

Google said it would appeal the ruling, but removed the video, "Innocence of Muslims," from YouTube and other platforms. The video has incited violent Muslim protests and has been banned by several Muslim countries.

The 2 to 1 decision by the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the actress who appeared in the film never consented to being in it and her performance may be protected by copyright law.

"While answering a casting call for a low-budget amateur film doesn't often lead to stardom, it also rarely turns an aspiring actress into the subject of a fatwa," Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote for the majority. "But that's exactly what happened to Cindy Lee Garcia when she agreed to act in a film with the working title 'Desert Warrior.' "

"Desert Warrior," which was supposed to be an adventure film, never materialized. But the performance Garcia gave for it was included in "Innocence of Muslims." Garcia said her voice was dubbed over to make an anti-Muslim remark, and she has had to hide because of continuing threats on her life.

"Here, the problem isn't that 'Innocence of Muslims' is not an Arabian adventure movie: It's that the film isn't intended to entertain at all," Kozinski wrote. "The film differs so radically from anything Garcia could have imagined when she was cast that it can't possibly be authorized by any implied license she granted."

The video was released a year and a half ago and has been widely disseminated on the Internet. Even with Google's action, it is likely to be easily accessible on the web, analysts said.

Santa Clara University law professor Eric Goldman said the ruling could empower anyone who appears in a video without their signed consent to demand it be taken down.

"The 1^st Amendment implications of this ruling are horrible," said Goldman, an expert on Internet law.

In a dissent, Judge N. Randy Smith called the decision "unprecedented" and argued the public has a strong interest in constitutional guarantees of free speech.

"An actress's performance in a film is more like the personal act of singing a song" than a set of works copyrighted by an author, he said. "As a result, it does not seem copyrightable."

The court said that Mark Basseley Youssef — who also uses the names Nakoula Basseley Nakoula and Sam Bacile — wrote and produced the film and paid Garcia $500 for 31/2 days of work.

"A clear sign that Youssef exceeded the bounds of any license is that he lied to Garcia in order to secure her participation, and she agreed to perform in reliance on that lie," Kozinski wrote. "Youssef's fraud alone is likely enough to void any agreement he had with Garcia."

A trial judge had refused Garcia's request for a preliminary injunction against Google's dissemination of the video. Google argued such an order would be a prior restraint in violation of the 1^st Amendment. But the appeals court noted that the 1^st Amendment does not protect against copyright infringement.

The majority stressed it was not holding that every actor has a copyright protection to his or her performance. Situations like Garcia's will be "extraordinarily rare," the court said.

A spokesman for Google said the company will appeal the ruling to a larger panel of the 9^th Circuit. The spokesman said the video on YouTube was a 14-minute trailer in which Garcia appeared for only five seconds.

"We strongly disagree with this ruling and will fight it," the spokesman said.

Foreign courts have forced Google to remove the video from platforms accessible in their regions, including the Middle East and Indonesia, citing the laws of their countries. But a Google spokeswoman said no court has previously cited a copyright claim.

The 9^th Circuit issued its order against Google last week but did not allow it to be made public until Wednesday's ruling. Google asked the panel to put the order on hold pending appeal, and the panel refused.

M. Cris Armenta, who represented Garcia, said she had made eight requests to YouTube to remove the program.

"The propaganda film differs so radically from anything that Ms. Garcia could have imagined when the director told her that she was being cast in the innocent adventure film 'Desert Warrior,' " Armenta said. "Had she known the true nature of the film, she never would have agreed to participate."

Garcia, in a statement released by her lawyer, said she was grateful for the decision.

She said she has fought "to assure every part of the Muslim community that as a fellow believer in one God, there is no hate in my heart for either the religion of Islam or the people who follow it."

maura.dolan@latimes.com

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31 women accuse UC Berkeley of botching sexual assault investigations

Thirty-one current and former UC Berkeley students filed two federal complaints against the university Wednesday alleging a decades-long pattern of mishandling sexual assault investigations by campus administrators.

The complaints allege that officials for years have discouraged victims from reporting assaults, failed to inform them of their rights and led a biased judicial process that favored assailants' rights over those of their victims.

The reports were filed with the U.S. Department of Education, which investigates violations of Title IX, the federal anti-discrimination law, and the Clery Act, a federal law that requires campuses to accurately report incidents of serious crimes, including sexual assault. Under Title IX, campuses that receive federal funding are required to impartially investigate allegations of sexual assault, which is considered a form of gender discrimination.

Last May, nine students filed a complaint citing Clery violations. Students said because the Education Department has not responded, they filed another report, updating the original and adding 22 people.

The Education Department did not comment on the Clery or Title IX complaints Wednesday.

"Neither the Department of Education nor UC Berkeley have made the efforts necessary to address the pervasive culture of sexual violence on our campus," said Sofie Karasek, a third-year student who is among those named in the complaints. "This is not only disappointing; it is also dangerous for the students who attend college here, and is representative of a larger problem: the federal government is not adequately enforcing its own laws."

Berkeley administrators had not seen the complaints, they said, but the women who filed it have raised awareness.

"Their stories are heart-wrenching," said Claire Holmes, a campus spokeswoman. "It's unimaginable, the kind of trauma they've been through."

Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks issued a statement Tuesday announcing new hires to help investigate these crimes and to help victims navigate the reporting system. He also said victims will be allowed to appeal decisions in internal sexual misconduct cases.

Berkeley joins a growing group of universities and colleges nationwide targeted for Title IX complaints by student activists, including at USC and Occidental College. That network of former and current students, End Rape on Campus, is seeking changes in a culture that it says treats rape and sexual assault as a routine part of college life. President Obama last month created a task force to try to combat sexual assaults on campus.

State auditors have included UC Berkeley in a review of how four California campuses handled assault allegations.

The Times reviewed portions of the Title IX complaint and interviewed several of the plaintiffs. In some cases, they asked to be identified by name.

Among them:

Diva Kass, a 2009 graduate, said she was raped at a fraternity party her junior year. A sorority sister told Kass she had been raped by the same man.

After Kass filed a complaint with Berkeley administrators, they convened a three-member panel that found her assailant was not responsible for the rape. Her assailant and his fraternity later settled a civil lawsuit she had filed.

"I felt betrayed by the system," Kass said in an interview from Indiana, where she is a law student. "The fact that the university I loved seemed to not care about me and was willing to find in his favor so they wouldn't have to report a rape on campus … it was incredibly heartbreaking." 

Aryle Butler, a junior, said she was assaulted twice in 2012 while attending a summer program affiliated with Berkeley. She said she told staff about the incidents. That fall, one of Butler's friends alleged that she had been assaulted on campus, which also was reported to administrators. Shortly afterward, Butler said, a Berkeley Police Department officer came to their dorm to interview her and her friend at 2 a.m. on a Sunday.

Butler was among the students who filed the initial Clery complaint against Berkeley.

Four women in both complaints say they were assaulted in 2012 by the same man, a senior who led a college-sponsored club. Eight months after filing their complaint, the women learned that Berkeley had put the senior on probation, required him to attend counseling and allowed him to graduate.

Karasek was a freshman when she joined that student group at a February 2012 meeting in San Diego. Karasek said a leader of the group, a Berkeley junior, groped her repeatedly in the middle of the night.

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Ex-Northridge skating rink employee held in foot fetish incident

An employee of a Northridge roller rink with a self-described "foot fetish" told police he repeatedly took young boys into a maintenance room and had them remove their socks and rub their feet on his hands or face to sexually arouse himself, court documents say.

Julian Christopher Flores, 19, said he engaged in that behavior at Northridge Skateland with about 200 boys over the course of a year, court records show. Flores' statement to police came a day after one boy told his grandmother about an encounter in the maintenance room, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Following the interview at LAPD's Devonshire Station, police seized Flores' cellphone and laptop and found videos in which he instructed several unknown minors to remove their socks, the court documents allege. In one video, a boy asks, "Why would you let a 9-year-old who you hardly know, put their feet on your face."

Flores, who no longer works at Skateland, has been charged with one count of false imprisonment and one count of an attempted lewd act on a child, court records state. He has pleaded not guilty.

Los Angeles police served a search warrant on Northridge Skateland in January and are attempting to identify victims who were patrons from May 1 through Dec. 21 of last year.

Skateland general manager Courtney Bourdas Henn said she had not notified customers on her own because LAPD officials asked that she not do so while their investigation is ongoing.

Henn said Skateland "deeply regrets" the incident and "we are fully cooperating with the LAPD."

The incident that led to Flores' arrest occurred on Dec. 21. He approached a young boy who was skating at the rink on several occasions, attempting to befriend him, according to court records.

He told the boy, "I bet you can't take your socks off without using your hands," according to court records.

Flores then told the boy to meet him by the men's room. Once there, Flores unlocked an adjacent maintenance room and ushered the boy inside, the affidavit states. He placed the boy atop a washing machine and removed his roller skates.

Flores then heard the victim's name being called from outside the maintenance room door. He became alarmed, turned off the lights and told the boy to be quiet, the affidavit states. Flores left the room; the boy emerged later.

The boy's grandmother said she allowed him to go the restroom but became concerned when he seemed to be taking too long, according to court records. She began shouting his name and went into the men's room to look for him, but couldn't find him.

Shortly thereafter she saw Flores appear in a walkway, according to the documents. Her grandson appeared about a minute later and wasn't wearing his skates. The boy, whose name was redacted in court documents, then told her about the incident.

Flores admitted his role in the incident and told police that, had they not been interrupted, he would have had the victim "rub his feet on his hands and that he was going to play with" the victim's feet, the affidavit states.

Flores, who faces a maximum of eight years and four months in prison if convicted, is free on $150,000 bail, a district attorney's spokesperson said. He has been ordered to stay away from the boy and his family. His next court date is set for March 27.

Flores' defense attorney, Valerie Lopez, declined comment.

The prosecutor, Deputy. Dist. Atty. Elena Abramson, declined comment through a spokesman.

Police have asked that anyone with information contact LAPD Det. Daniel Aguirre at 213-486-0580 or, after hours, 1-877-LAPD-24-7.

scott.glover@latimes.com

Times staff writer Scott Glover contributed to this report.

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Heavy rains are expected to end L.A.'s long dry spell

It's poor form to complain about rain, even a whole lot of it, when you really need it.

So Southern Californians will just have to grin and bear it beginning Wednesday night when the first of two major storms is forecast to move into the region.

The storms are expected to deliver the most rainfall since spring 2011. They come as Southern California and most of the state struggles through a historically dry stretch. Last year was the driest calendar year in L.A.'s recorded history. Since the beginning of the rain year in July, only 1.2 inches of rain has fallen in downtown L.A. Now it's going to rain — a lot — with more than four inches possible in some valley and foothill areas from the second storm.

"It's been almost three years since we've had rain like this," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. "This is not a February or March miracle, but any rain is sweet because everything is so dry."

The possibility of so much rain in such a short period of time has firefighters, public works and law enforcement officials girding for the inevitable problems: traffic congestion, accidents and possible mudslides. "We haven't had weather in a while," said L.A. County Fire Department Inspector Tony Akins.

Although the rain is badly needed, it would take several seasons of above-normal rainfall to bust the drought gripping California.

The state has seen below-normal rainfall 11 of the last 15 years, making dry weather the norm over an extraordinarily long period, he said. Even if L.A. got two inches of rain from the coming storms, the city would still be only about 30% to 40% of normal for this time of the year.

Stuart Seto, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said the storm that hits the region Friday could linger through Monday, with the heaviest rain likely to fall Friday morning and afternoon.

The rain should help replenish some groundwater storage basins, bring temporary relief to desiccated foothill areas that are prone to wildfires and add snow to mountain areas. It'll also bring complications.

Law enforcement and fire officials expect an uptick in traffic accidents as the long-awaited rain mixes with accumulated oil on roadways to create extra-slick surfaces. The risk of vehicles hydroplaning and crashing increases under these conditions.

Like many agencies, the L.A. County Fire Department is keeping close tabs with the National Weather Service to determine staffing and strategy, Akins said.

"We're in constant communication with the National Weather Service as part of our routine operations," he said.

Akins said inmate crews at fire camps are prepared to respond to a variety of potential issues, such as mudslides, debris flows and flooding. Areas that have been razed by wildfires, such as the hills above Glendora, are especially vulnerable because fire renders the ground moisture averse, causing rainfall to rush downhill, rather than soak into the soil. Akins said fire stations will pass out sandbags to residents who need them.

Glendora City Manager Chris Jeffers said the city has a system to alert residents when they need to evacuate or take other actions. He said the city is in contact with weather and county fire officials, the L.A. County Flood Control District, the U.S. Forest Service, police and other agencies.

Jeffers said the Colby fire, which scorched nearly 2,000 acres last month, had "severely damaged" the hills above Glendora.

"The fire and severity are very reminiscent of the 1968 fires, which led to the horrific debris and mudflows in 1969," he said. "More damage was incurred to property as a result of the 1969 mudflows than the fire itself."

Jeffers said the forecasts don't suggest "substantial negative impact on the burn areas" from the first storm. But he said the city is more wary of the second round, which is expected to include thunderstorms.

"This is the storm that has us concerned at this point," Jeffers said.

He said that county flood control officials have helped the city survey residents in the burn area, visiting about 150 homes to offer advice on how to mitigate risks to their property. They have also visited about 60 residents who might need assistance in case of an evacuation order, Jeffers said.

Patzert of JPL said one of the problems that occur during heavy rains after prolonged dry spells is that storm sewers which haven't been flushed out can get overwhelmed. Some flooding is possible even in urban areas, he said.

With the rains coming, law enforcement officials are warning motorists to slow down on streets and freeways and to clean gutters. And county Supervisor Don Knabe reminded people that they also need to shut off their sprinkler systems.

"Your yard won't need to be watered until later next week," he said. "At the very least."

hector.becerra@latimes.com

ari.bloomekatz@latimes.com

ruben.vives@latimes.com

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Civilian oversight of L.A. County Sheriff's Department is floated

Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to ask the newly appointed inspector general of the Sheriff's Department to work with interim Sheriff John L. Scott to study setting up a civilian commission that would oversee the department.

The officials will look into how such a body could be structured and weigh in on whether they advise creating it at all. They will report back to the board by the end of June.

The supervisors also asked the county's attorneys to look into what steps would be required to create a commission with legal authority rather than a purely advisory body. That would probably require legislative action at the state level.

Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Gloria Molina proposed setting up a civilian commission in September, after the U.S. Department of Justice announced that its civil rights division would investigate treatment of mentally ill inmates. But a vote on the plan has been postponed repeatedly.

The other supervisors said they preferred to focus on setting up an inspector general's office for the department, as recommended by a blue ribbon commission that studied the issue of jail violence. That body did not make any recommendation on a citizen oversight panel.

The supervisors have hired former prosecutor Max Huntsman as inspector general and are in the process of staffing his office.

Tuesday's action will delay to at least July any final vote on whether to create a civilian commission, but proponents said they saw the move as a step in the right direction.

"I am encouraged that the board is comprehending how reform can and should take place," Ridley-Thomas said in an interview. "Legal authority is accountability with a capital A. That which we are limited to is accountability with a small A, but it is accountability nonetheless, and it beats a blank."

Patrisse Cullors, founder of the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence in L.A. Jails, called the vote a "great step in the direction of ensuring our loved ones' human rights are upheld," although she added that advocates would have to "make sure that the county does not get swept up in its own bureaucracy."

Since the supervisors initially considered the proposal, federal authorities have indicted 20 current and former sheriff's officials, and Sheriff Lee Baca has stepped down, leaving an open race to replace him in June's election.

Shortly before announcing his retirement last month, Baca voiced support for civilian oversight. Interim Sheriff Scott said in a recent interview that he would want to know more about how the body would be structured, but said he is "OK with the concept."

Several of the candidates running to replace Baca have also expressed support for the commission concept. So have the leading candidates running to replace termed-out Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

Yaroslavsky, who asked for the county's attorneys to look into the steps required to set up a commission with "teeth," has not supported creating a purely advisory commission.

abby.sewell@latimes.com

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Federal judge in L.A. sentences weapons smuggler to 7 years in prison

A 27-year-old Filipino national was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for smuggling military-grade weapons into the U.S., in a case that offered a rare, unflattering look inside an undercover FBI operation.

During the two-year case, one FBI agent was forced to answer questions about thousands in taxpayer dollars spent at brothels, and another was accused of paying for sex with a prostitute while on the job in the Philippines.

On Tuesday, it was Sergio Santiago Syjuco who was in the hot seat. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner handed down the sentence for his conviction last March on illegally importing weapons including machine guns, sniper rifles, grenade and mortar launchers, and ballistic vests, along with two other defendants. The weapons arrived in a container marked "furniture and household" items at the Long Beach port in 2011.

"You screwed up, no question about it, this is very serious," the judge told Syjuco, adding that the defendant committed a "very dangerous offense" with potential for great harm.

Klausner did not address arguments by Syjuco's attorney, Deputy Federal Public Defender John Littrell, who contended that the case had been "created by the government from beginning to end." Littrell argued that a charismatic undercover FBI agent had "induced" a naive, susceptible Syjuco into procuring weapons, plying him with alcohol and prostitutes.

"He tried to puff himself into, or appear to be, the type of weapons trafficker Chuck Ro was looking for," he argued, referring to Special Agent Charles Ro. "This offense never would have happened were it not for inducement by the government."

Assistant U.S. Atty. Kim Dammers dismissed Littrell's allegations, saying that Syjuco was fully aware of where the weapons were going and that they were intended for nefarious purposes. The agent, posing as an international arms broker, told Syjuco and the other defendants that he worked for the Mexican drug cartels and the Mexican Mafia.

"This is not a case of these poor guys, they were entrapped," she told the judge, noting that Syjuco and the others flew to the U.S. believing that they were to take part in another weapons deal. "Mr. Syjuco engaged in this weapons trafficking solely for the purpose of monetary gain."

In the audience at Syjuco's sentencing was one of the jurors who voted to convict him, Bryan Croft. In a sworn declaration submitted by defense attorneys, Croft wrote that he was "disappointed" and "shocked" by the FBI's tactics.

"I don't think they ever would have been shipping weapons to the United States if it hadn't been for the agents throwing money, women and booze at them," Croft wrote.

Klausner said he would not take into consideration one juror's opinion and said the law leaves sentencing up to the judge, not the jury.

Ro, the agent, took the stand in early 2013 to testify about the operation in the Philippines in a lengthy hearing in which defense attorneys alleged "outrageous government misconduct." District Judge Robert Timlin ruled at the conclusion of the hearing that though the venues where the agent met with the defendants were "unsavory," their acts were not "shocking enough to warrant dismissal."

Special Agent Marc Napolitano testified that he had sex with a karaoke club employee and gave her about $80, but he said the money was for her ailing father.

victoria.kim@latimes.com

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Asiana Airlines fined $500,000 for response to San Francisco crash

Imposing the first penalty of its type, the federal government has fined Asiana Airlines $500,000 for failing to promptly help passengers and their families after last year's crash in San Francisco.

A U.S. Department of Transportation investigation found that the South Korean airline violated the Foreign Air Carrier Family Support Act by taking up to five days to notify family members and failing to provide other basic assistance.

In a statement issued Tuesday, federal officials said Asiana did not "adhere to the assurances in its family assistance plan," a federally mandated set of procedures foreign airlines must follow to promptly assist passengers and their families after major aircraft incidents.

The agency said it took Asiana days to do such things as contacting family members, sending trained personnel and translators to San Francisco, and providing a phone number with information on the crash.

Three people were killed and more than 180 passengers and crew members injured when Asiana's Boeing 777 clipped a sea wall on July 6 and slammed into a runway at San Francisco International Airport. An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

According to the Department of Transportation investigation, the airline took two days to successfully contact three-quarters of passengers' families and up to five days to contact several others.

Transportation officials said the airline took a day just to provide family members a telephone number for information. Before that, the only number generally available was a toll-free reservation line.

Federal officials said it also took two days after the crash for the airline to send enough trained staff and translators to San Francisco. Flight 214 originated in Seoul, and many of the 307 passengers and crew members aboard were from China or South Korea.

Overall, investigators said, five days passed before Asiana could get the necessary resources to carry out its response plan.

"The last thing families and passengers should have to worry about at such a stressful time is how to get information from their carrier," Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said in the statement

Asiana Airlines said in a statement that it provided "extensive support to the passengers and their families following the accident and will continue to do so."

The fine was imposed under a consent order, which is a legal settlement with the federal government that describes the facts uncovered by the investigation and the reason for penalizing Asiana.

Without conceding any violation and to avoid litigation, airline officials signed the order, which requires Asiana to avoid any future violations of the family support act.

Under the agreement, Asiana will pay $400,000 within 30 days and be credited $100,000 for its costs to sponsor industrywide conferences about the lessons the airline learned from the crash.

The order states that Asiana takes its family assistance responsibilities seriously and acknowledges the difficulties fulfilling its legal obligations. Company officials said they tried to provide assistance immediately after the crash, but because of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, only 12 airline employees were on duty in San Francisco.

According to the order, Asiana officials believe the presence of the airline's chief executive on the scene a few days after the crash ensured that passengers and families received the help required by law and expected of a premier airline and a good corporate citizen.

Asiana officials also told investigators that it had few people in the United States trained to handle post-accident responsibilities and had to rely on its domestic airline partner for assistance. It took two days to get fully trained people to the airport and five days for Asiana to assume full responsibility for assisting the relatives of passengers.

Dozens of passengers who were aboard the flight have taken steps toward lawsuits against the airline and Boeing Co., the plane's manufacturer. The families of the three teenagers who were killed also have retained attorneys.

kate.mather@latimes.com

dan.weikel@latimes.com

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Scandal rocks police force in Monterey County town

SAN FRANCISCO — In a predawn sweep that stunned the Salinas Valley town of King City, the acting police chief, a former chief, other police employees and a towing company owner were arrested Tuesday, some on charges connected to a scheme to steal impounded cars belonging mostly to Latino immigrants, authorities said.

A police sergeant was allowed to keep one impounded vehicle for every 10 to 15 he steered to a towing company owned by the brother of the acting police chief, according to the criminal complaint.

Among the vehicles he allegedly kept: a Pontiac LeMans, a Ford Expedition and a Ford Explorer.

The synchronized 5:59 a.m. sweep by multiple agencies came six months into an investigation led by the Monterey County district attorney's office and spurred by "ongoing complaints of corruption and other criminal acts within the King City Police Department," Dist. Atty. Dean Flippo said in a statement.

Flippo told reporters at an afternoon news conference in Salinas that King City residents, many of whom are poor and cannot speak English, told him, "The police are taking our property. They are taking our cars. They take our money. And we can do nothing about that."

Authorities said that while investigating those allegations, they stumbled across other alleged crimes. The probe is ongoing, Flippo said.

Those arrested in connection with the alleged vehicle scheme were: Acting Police Chief Bruce Miller; his brother Brian Miller, owner of Miller Tow; Sgt. Bobby Javier Carrillo; former Chief Dominic "Nick" Baldiviez, who retired in September; and Officer Mario Alonso Mottu Sr.

The charges include bribery, embezzlement and conspiracy.

According to the complaint, Carrillo sent 87% of 200 vehicles impounded from March 2010 to November 2013 to Miller Tow, even though the city had towing arrangements with four companies, and received cars in return. The complaint says Bruce Miller received a vehicle as a bribe from Carrillo in an influence-buying arrangement.

Baldiviez and Mottu were charged with embezzlement by a public officer for an incident in which Baldiviez transferred ownership of a marked patrol car — complete with Department of Motor Vehicles documents — to Mottu, said Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Terry Spitz.

Also arrested were Officer Jaime Andrade, who was charged with possession of an assault weapon and illegal storage of a firearm, and Sgt. Mark Allen Baker, charged with making criminal threats.

Criminal complaints accuse Andrade of possessing a semiautomatic Colt AR-15 and storing it in a manner in which "a child was likely to gain access to it." Baker is accused of threatening a man named Leon Rosalio Infante.

Bruce Miller told a KSBW-TV reporter after posting bail that he was "completely surprised" and "blown away" by his arrest.

"The charges they are looking at is receiving or requesting a bribe, and I've never done that," the acting police chief said. "I was aware of the investigations, but I didn't know that I would become a suspect.... My reputation is soiled. There's no coming back from this, even if I'm found innocent."

Spitz said his office had not yet been contacted by attorneys for any of those arrested. A woman who answered the phone at Miller Tow declined to comment.

King City, an agricultural community of fewer than 13,000 residents along California 101, is more than 80% Latino.

Antonio Rivas, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens' Council of Salinas, said his organization was "very upset" about the allegations and will press the City Council to "take the matter very seriously and … hopefully restore the trust of the community."

Elected leaders pledged to do so.

City Manager Michael Powers said for "any police officer to commit a crime is wrong and doubly wrong because they enjoy a public trust that is hugely important. Then to prey on people who are unable to really defend themselves is just wrong on so many different levels."

Mayor Robert Cullen, who works as an insurance agent, said he was stunned both as a public official and a resident.

"I'm the mayor, but I'm also a citizen. I've got my family here, I've got my friends here," said Cullen, who has served with Carrillo on the Chamber of Commerce board.

"I know all of them," he said of the men arrested.

Cullen and Powers said the Sheriff's Department was already lending deputies to the small force, which before Tuesday had just 17 sworn officers. Neighboring departments in Soledad, Greenfield and Gonzales had also agreed to help.

"The dust is still settling from the events of the day, and we're trying to cut through all that dust," Powers said. "We are meeting with [police] staff to bring them up to speed and reassure them and proceed forward from here."

lee.romney@latimes.com

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Roderick Wright gets paid leave of absence in wake of convictions

SACRAMENTO — Democratic state Sen. Roderick Wright on Tuesday was granted a paid leave of absence from his position as he awaits sentencing in May on eight felony counts of perjury and voter fraud, leaving the Democratic supermajority no votes to spare in the upper house.

Wright's decision could hasten Senate action against Sen. Ronald S. Calderon (D-Montebello), who was indicted last week on 24 federal counts involving the acceptance of nearly $100,000 in bribes in exchange for influencing legislation. If Calderon steps away or is expelled, the Democrats would lose their supermajority in the Senate, at least temporarily.

Some lawmakers wanted action taken against Wright, who was convicted, before any action is taken against Calderon, who has been charged but not convicted. But Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said it would be premature to expel Wright before a trial judge affirmed his conviction and sentenced the lawmaker.

Steinberg has given Calderon until Monday to resign or take a leave of absence. Otherwise, Steinberg said, Calderon would face a Senate vote to suspend him.

Wright, for his part, plans to ask a trial judge to overturn a jury's verdict that he lied about living in his Senate district when he ran for office and voted there. Steinberg gave him permission Tuesday to take a leave of absence.

"I've accepted his request and wish him well going forward," Steinberg said in a statement.

The Senate leader has said that he views California's law governing residency requirements for candidates as "ambiguous" but indicated that he would seek Wright's resignation or move to expel him from office if the trial judge confirms the conviction and approves a sentence.

"I hope that Sen. Wright succeeds in his motion before the trial judge," Steinberg told reporters Monday. "If he does not and the trial judge enters the conviction into the record and sentences him, then he can no longer remain a member of the state Senate."

Sen. Joel Anderson of San Diego, one of four Republican lawmakers who have called for Wright's expulsion, objected to the leave of absence.

"I don't believe it is in the best interest of Californians to be granting a paid vacation to a senator found guilty of eight felony counts unanimously by a jury of 12," Anderson said.

Because the leave is voluntary and not imposed by the Senate, Anderson said, Wright could rescind it on a moment's notice and return to the Senate for a key vote.

Prosecutors persuaded a jury that Wright lived in a large house in the upscale Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, outside the district where he ran for office, and not at an address claimed as his residence in Inglewood.

Wright, 61, maintains that he met the standards of residency established by court precedent.

"It is a great honor to represent the people of the 35th Senate District," Wright said in a statement Tuesday. "I remain hopeful that — through due process — I will once again have the opportunity to fight for laws that strengthen our communities and support those most in need."

While on leave, Wright will continue to collect his $95,291 annual salary. The state Constitution does not give the Senate power to withhold pay from a senator, said Mark Hedlund, a spokesman for Steinberg.

However, Wright will not receive the $163 per diem check for each day the Senate is in session because he will not be attending those sessions.

The supermajority that both houses now have in the Legislature allows tax hikes and other matters requiring a two-thirds vote to be passed without Republican support. But John J. Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, noted that a tax increase is less likely in an election year.

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

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Gun Donnelly had at airport wasn't registered to him, records show

The handgun that GOP assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly attempted to take through airport security in 2012 was not registered to him, according to a police report reviewed by The Times.

Donnelly told officers who questioned him that he had bought it five years before and never registered it in his name.

The San Bernardino County lawmaker and gun-rights advocate pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of carrying a loaded firearm in public without a concealed weapons permit and possessing a gun in an airport. He was fined $2,125 and placed on three years' probation.

He was never charged with failing to purchase the gun through a licensed dealer, a requirement for most firearm purchases in California except certain antiques and curio rifles. Legal purchases trigger a change in the gun's registration, according to a spokesman for the state attorney general's office.

Failing to use a licensed dealer to buy a gun is a misdemeanor in California, and the statute of limitations is one year.

The report from the Los Angeles/Ontario International Airport police states that the gun was registered to Barbara Edith Burbeck, an 83-year-old San Bernardino County resident.

In an interview, Burbeck said she had used the gun for target practice but sold it at least 15 years ago. She said Tuesday she could not remember who bought it from her.

When told that police had seized it from Donnelly after airport security officials spotted it as it passed through an X-ray machine, Burbeck said, "You're kidding. I don't know him except having seen the stuff in the newspaper. He's a politician. I don't keep track of that stuff."

Donnelly did not return calls from The Times.

The gun charges against Donnelly generated buzz in the Capitol because of his outspoken support for gun rights. For example, he opposed a 2011 bill restricting the open carrying of handguns by calling the measure "a form of tyranny."

Under the terms of his probation, Donnelly is not allowed to "use, own or possess any firearm that is not registered to him."

However, he used three borrowed firearms at an indoor gun range in Santa Cruz County while campaigning this month.

Asked by The Times whether doing so violated his probation, Donnelly said, "I didn't do anything other than exercise my 2nd Amendment rights as a free American."

San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Michael Ramos said Donnelly would not face any legal sanctions for his actions at the gun range.

"The term of probation was never intended to apply to shooting at a gun range," Ramos said in a statement. "I will not allow our office to be used for political purposes."

jessica.garrison@latimes.com

chris.megerian@latimes.com

Garrison reported from Los Angeles, Megerian from Sacramento. Times staff writer Richard Winton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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L.A. paid significantly more in overtime in 2013, records show

Los Angeles firefighters on average earned nearly $43,000 in overtime in 2013, up nearly 20% from the year before, according to data released Tuesday by City Controller Ron Galperin.

With overtime and bonuses factored in, the average firefighter was paid more than $142,000 last year, the data show.

Though firefighters got the biggest share, overtime was up substantially across city departments, climbing more than $70 million to a total of $378 million in 2013, the data show.

"The city is a 24-hour operation, so overtime is a part of doing business," Galperin said in a press release. He urged city leaders to explore management and hiring practices that could save money.

The information was added to Galperin's open data website, which he says is a vehicle to improve transparency and give taxpayers "more insight into the city's true payroll costs."

The firefighters' union president did not dispute the controller's pay figures. He said his members were overworked and desperate for reinforcements.

"We're at a tipping point where it doesn't make sense to continue to pay so much overtime without hiring new workers," said Frank Lima, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City. "That's not the fault of the firefighter on the street."

The city hasn't hired a new firefighter in five years, Lima said. That has left fewer firefighters to handle the workload and requires the city to pay more overtime, he said. Exhaustion among rescuers is contributing to longer response times and a growing risk to public safety, he added. "We're running more calls than ever over here; it ain't no cake walk."

The fire department has lost 726 sworn members since 2008, according to a press release on Tuesday. But a new class of 68 recruits began training in January and is expected to graduate in June.

"The ongoing hiring of new firefighters will help alleviate the need for such significant reliance on overtime staffing," the release said.

Department of Water and Power employees had the second-highest average overtime, at just over $12,500. That brought total earnings for the department's average employee to $103,000 in 2013, the data show.

The city-owned utility also paid an average of $16,230 for health and dental benefits for employees. That's 27% more than the cost to cover other city employees, Galperin reported.

jack.dolan@latimes.com

Twitter: @jackdolanLAT

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