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From the LA Times:

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Wal-Mart Supercenter Gets Foot in the Door
Rosemead is the first L.A. County city to OK one of the retail giant's stores that sell groceries. Foes still hope to stop the project in court.
<full story>

Study Finds Rampant Illiteracy in L.A. County
Irene Hernandez knows all too well what life is like for the estimated 3.8 million Los Angeles County adults who can barely read, write or speak English.
<full story>

New Seal, Sans Cross, Offers Other Changes
County unveils altered design, which also replaces the goddess Pomona, after ACLU threatens to sue.
<full story>

Mayor Fires Back Over Crime
Hahn accuses candidate Parks, whom he ousted as police chief, of failure in that job.
<full story>

Fire Drill to Evacuate High-Rises
Civic Center sites and 20,000 people will be involved in the exercise.
<full story>

Foes Criticize Hahn Over Housing
Parks, Alarcon and Hertzberg outline plans to assist low-income residents while faulting record of the mayor, who shuns debate.
<full story>

Bus Tour Steers Latinos Toward College
Belmont High School senior Andres Ruiz wants to go to college, but he says his immigrant parents don't know anything about applying for financial aid and his college counselor is often too busy to answer questions.
<full story>

Traffic Signal Impasse Settled
Breaking a stalemate that has delayed Los Angeles' compliance with state law, Mayor James K. Hahn directed the Department of Water and Power on Wednesday to provide $20 million in loans to convert the city's incandescent traffic signals into more energy-efficient lights.
<full story>

2 Suburbs May Get Council Video Link
San Fernando Valley and San Pedro residents would be able to testify through video-conferencing during the Los Angeles City Council's downtown meetings under a proposal that advanced Wednesday.
<full story>

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From the Daily News:

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Dirty air's young victims
Children who grow up in smoggy Southern California neighborhoods have underdeveloped lungs, which puts them at risk of illness and premature death as adults, a landmark study published today says.
<full story>

Illiteracy shockingly high in L.A.
Continued immigration and a stubborn high school dropout rate have stymied efforts to improve literacy in Los Angeles County, where more than half the working-age population can't read a simple form, a report released Wednesday found.
<full story>

Absent Hahn taken to task
Crime and housing emerged as key issues Wednesday as the major challengers seeking to oust Mayor James Hahn met in their first debate.
<full story>

Region on alert for fires
Working to prevent a repeat of last year's massive blazes, Los Angeles County fire officials on Wednesday deployed additional crews and engines across the region as triple-digit temperatures scorched the already tinder-dry brush.
<full story>

Seal design gets 1st look
Los Angeles County officials on Wednesday issued a drawing of a proposed county seal without a Christian cross, reigniting the controversial issue.
<full story>

Hahn gets tough on signals
After months of bureaucratic inertia over replacing Los Angeles' traffic signals with energy-efficient models, Mayor James Hahn on Wednesday ordered the city's Department of Water and Power to front as much as $20 million to buy new lights.
<full story>

Woodman Avenue-Oxnard Street intersection reopens
Part of Woodman Avenue reopened Wednesday as construction of the San Fernando Valley's Orange Line busway slowly gets back on track after a court-ordered work stoppage, officials said.
<full story>

Assault weapons ban will expire
WASHINGTON -- Congress will not vote to extend a federal assault weapons ban, Republican leaders said Wednesday, rejecting a last-ditch plea from supporters.
<full story>

Tainted-site controls vowed
PACOIMA -- Environmental officials on Wednesday promised to appoint an on-site inspector, hold monthly meetings and immediately control dust rolling off the old Price Pfister site in Pacoima.
<full story>

Latinos learn about college aid
Alex Alfaro, a freshman at Belmont Senior High School, hadn't planned on going to college. He's not an ace student and figured he'd become a Marine like his brother or a trucker like his stepfather.
<full story>

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From other sources:

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From the LAPD
Detectives Need the Public's Help to Identify Stabbing Victim
On September 5, 2004, at 9:30 p.m., a Reseda resident in the 8200 block of Tunney Avenue saw a man staggering southbound on the sidewalk. The man collapsed, he appeared to be critically injured and had blood on his shirt. A witness called "911" and the responding Los Angeles City Paramedics transported the victim to Northridge Hospital.
<full story>

From Attorney General Lockyer
Attorney General Lockyer Announces Agreement with Rite Aid to Reduce Tobacco Sales to Minors
Multi-State Deal Is Sixth Reached With Major Retailers; More Than 40,000 Outlets Covered
<full story>

From Senator Boxer
Statement by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer on The Assault Weapons Ban
Unless Congress and the President act immediately, the federal assault weapons ban will expire in just 5 days.
<full story>

From Senator Feinstein
Senator Feinstein Calls on President Bush to Take Active Role in Effort to Renew Federal Assault Weapons Ban
In a speech on the Senate Floor, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today called upon President Bush to actively work to pass the renewal of the ban.
<full story>