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From the LA Times:

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Drastic Prison Overhaul Urged
A panel appointed by the governor and headed by Deukmejian is harshly critical of the system
SACRAMENTO — California's $6-billion correctional system, once a national model, is a failure on most fronts and should be placed under the control of a civilian commission, a report by a team of experts appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger concluded Thursday.
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Police Say Officers Didn't Collude
LAPD defends taking 40 minutes to separate the eight who were on hand at beating of a suspect, saying they didn't conspire on a story.
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LAX May Put Curbs on Solicitors
Officials are hearing growing complaints about the tactics of some charity workers.
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Jury Service No-Shows
Get the Word: No Excuses Those who repeatedly ignore their summons wind up in court themselves. The threat of stiff fines helps get the message across.
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Villaraigosa 'Close' to Mayoral Bid
The councilman says he has the support of his family and many constituents to run, but must first make sure he has the fire in the belly.
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Trust's Playa Lawsuit Rejected
A Los Angeles judge has denied a request to halt excavation at the Playa Vista development, finding that the possible environmental impact of the work was considered by city officials when they approved the project a decade ago.
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Bratton Defends Officer in 2nd Incident
Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton said Thursday that a videotape showing a police officer using a flashlight to hit a suspect during a June 19 incident was "brutal" but that the officer's actions appear to be within protocol.
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EDITORIAL
Give LAPD Probe a Chance
Posturing and politicking are predictable responses to the emotionally freighted image of a Los Angeles Police Department officer beating a black suspect, but they could undermine a fair investigation as surely as any cover-up or whitewash.
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EDITORIAL
A Starting Point for Reform
The prison reforms that an expert panel presented Thursday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are as dramatic as the prisons' failings. For decades, California's prison guards and their union have accumulated power, so that today they run the system. Prisoner rehabilitation is a shambles. California's recidivism rate, says the review panel's report, is the nation's worst.
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From the Daily News:

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Officials insist beatings isolated LAPD incidents
Faced with growing anger and skepticism in the community, Mayor James Hahn insisted Thursday that the two recent videotaped police beatings of African-American men were isolated incidents.
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Hahn still far ahead on fund raising
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn will report he has raised more than $2 million for his re-election campaign while challengers Bob Hertzberg and Richard Alarcon also are expected to report significant gains, campaign sources said Thursday.
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Team targets violent crime
A federal task force has been launched this summer in Los Angeles and 14 other cities to fight violent gun- and gang-related crimes, illegal drug rings and criminal organizations, officials said Thursday.
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Study: Kids are hurting for lack of court help
A chronic shortage of services for families, poorly prepared social workers and jammed court dockets are among the barriers to finding permanent homes for children in foster care, according to a survey released Thursday.
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Don't police have a right to fair trial?
by Roy Burns -- From the first shots of revolution fired at Lexington and Concord, the American campaign for freedom has stretched from Bunker Hill to Belleau Wood, from Normandy to Iwo Jima, and from the Chosin Reservoir to Saigon.
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From other sources:

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From the LAPD
"Car Show to Aid Police Station"
Los Angeles: An extensive array of classic, custom, foreign and racing cars will go on display on Saturday, July 10, 2004, to raise money for the Devonshire Area of the Los Angeles Police Department.
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"7-11 Store Robbery Caught on Tape"
Los Angeles: On June 30, 2004, at about 3:30 a.m., two male Black suspects entered the 7-11 Store located at 5600 San Vicente Boulevard. Both suspects were armed with handguns and bound the lone employee. The suspects deactivated the surveillance system prior to forcing the front counter over and removed the safe. The suspects also took the cash box and left the store. There was a third suspect at the front door who acted as a lookout during the robbery.
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From Attorney General Lockyer
Attorney General Lockyer Issues Statement in Response to Court Ruling Upholding Important California Consumer Protection Law
(SACRAMENTO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today issued this statement in response to today's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England upholding Senate Bill 1, the California Financial Information Privacy Act, which will go into effect July 1, 2004.:
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