Source: L.A. Now
The budget news out of Sacramento continues to worsen.
State officials braced for the possibility of delaying tax refunds to millions of Californians, along with student grants and payments to vendors, as the latest round of budget negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators collapsed.
State Controller John Chiang has said that as early [...]
Source: LA Weekly | Complete Issue
Your mother. That’s who you get slapped onto your shoulder if you have a spare patch of skin and are at a loss for how to fill it. And that’s what one older gentleman at the Body Art Expo at Pomona’s Fairplex asks artist Shaun Kama of Halloween Tattoos to [...]
Source: LA Weekly | Complete Issue
On Cleared Murder Suspect Herbie GonzalesI am having all my students read [“Cleared Murder Suspect Herbie Gonzales Is Still Dogged by Sheriffs,” by Paul Teetor, Dec. 30] so that they are aware of what is going on in society! Put the video games down, read and educ…
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Source: L.A. Now
The Los Angeles Police Department waged an aggressive behind-the-scenes campaign to convince coroner’s officials to change their finding that a SWAT officer’s bullet killed a 19-month-old girl held hostage by her father three years ago, according to records reviewed by The Times.
The intense lobbying effort, spearheaded by one of the department’s highest-ranking officials, [...]
Source: L.A. Now
Scores of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers could face midyear layoffs, officials said Tuesday.
The dire scenario could result if the state Legislature cannot raise revenue to close part of the current year’s state budget deficit, L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said at an afternoon news conference.
Those at risk would be [...]
Source: L.A. Now
A 34-year-old Los Angeles man was charged with murder today in connection with the fatal shooting of a New Year’s Eve reveler at a Studio City party, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Gilbert Llewelyn McDonald was scheduled for arraignment this afternoon in Van Nuys Superior Court, said Deputy Dist. Atty. William [...]
Source: L.A. Now
The 6-foot bronze miner statue stolen last February from the Carthay Circle area and later recovered from a Los Angeles scrapyard is back on familiar ground, where it will be fully installed in the next two weeks, city officials said today.
For decades, the gold miner stood in plain view at the busy intersection [...]
Source: L.A. Now
There’s one less City Hall pol on the market now that Eric Garcetti announced he got hitched over the weekend. Details from City News Service:
Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti and his longtime girlfriend were married over the weekend, his office announced today. Garcetti and Amy Elaine Wakeland were married Sunday in [...]
Source: L.A. Now
A Cal State Northridge basketball player, along with a coach’s son and two other men, is facing charges for allegedly stealing more than $6,600 in merchandise from a Best Buy on New Year’s Day, officials said.
Jeffrey Robert Braswell, 22, son of CSUN Head Basketball Coach Bobby Braswell, will be arraigned this afternoon in [...]
Source: L.A. Now
Los Angeles County’s long-awaited plan to revamp its multimillion-dollar-a-year anti-gang effort was unveiled this morning at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Supervisors gave Chief Executive Officer William T. Fujioka another six months to develop the plan, which was 18 months in the making.
Fujioka said his staff will try to bring a detailed plan [...]
Source: L.A. Now
At a time when many cities have falling revenue, Beverly Hills has an idea for raising more for city coffers. Voters in March will decide on changes to certain business taxes that officials say could raise $5 million to $7 million a year, according to the Canyon News:
The measure will change the existing [...]
Source: L.A. Now
Just in time for awards season, the Four Seasons Hotel on Doheny Drive (which used to be known as the place where Hollywood breakfasts) has remodeled its Windows lounge. And The Times’ Elina Shatkin reports the hotel has a special drink for Oscar watch:
Redesigned and reopened just in time for the Hollywood awards [...]
Source: L.A. Now
At least one suspect has robbed the Washington Mutual bank at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue this morning and half a dozen police cruisers and FBI agents have responded to the scene. Authorities were called to the bank about 10:40 a.m in response to the robbery, said Los Angeles Police Officer Ana Aguirre. [...]
Source: L.A. Now
In a ruling likely to affect billboard regulations across the nation, a federal appellate court in San Francisco today ruled that Los Angeles’ 2002 citywide outdoor advertising ban did not violate a sign company’s 1st Amendment right to free speech.
The decision, issued by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, reversed a lower court [...]
Source: L.A. Now
For decades, the name Larry Flynt has been synonymous with the porn industry. It was the "Hustler" publisher who challenged obscenity laws and promoted efforts to expand freedom of expression under the 1st Amendment, immortalized in the Milos Forman film "The People vs. Larry Flynt."
But expression apparently goes only so far.
Now, [...]
Source: L.A. Now
Want to step aboard the subway extension to the Westside? Looks like you may have to wait until 2019 — and even then you’ll only be able to travel as far west as La Cienega Boulevard, according to a new staff report from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The staff published an [...]
Source: L.A. Now
A prosecutor filed papers today asking a judge to ignore Roman Polanski’s request for a dismissal of a 30-year-old child sex case until the Academy Award-winning director returns to the United States and submits to the California justice system.
Polanski, 75, has been a fugitive since 1978, when he fled the country before [...]
Source: L.A. Now
Separate rallies in support of Palestinians and Israel are scheduled this afternoon outside the Israeli Consulate in the Fairfax District as the Jewish state’s air and ground offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues for a 12th day.
The rallies are expected to start about 4 p.m. and extend from the intersection [...]
Source: L.A. Now
Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton received some flak last year when he declared that celebrity Lindsay Lohan had toned down her previously rowdy behavior because she had "gone gay."
But the remark apparently hasn’t cut into his popularity in the gay community. And one gay website named the tough-talking chief [...]
Source: L.A. Now
* Updated at 3:40 p.m.
Authorities are investigating the death of a 41-year-old Carson man during an altercation with deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies arrived at a home in Carson early Saturday in response to a report of a man assaulting an elderly family member. The suspect, identified by the Los [...]