Law Enforcement

'Shavees' lose locks for cancer research
More than 200 "shavees," most of whom were firefighters and police officers, sat themselves down on stools at Fire Station 89 in North Hollywood on Saturday and let clippers bare their heads. "It's phenomenal," said Kathleen Ruddy, executive director of St. Baldrick's. "I think they're used to being heroes, and to stepping up, and to doing dangerous things. They are used to helping out the underdogs. And kids with cancer are the underdogs in our community." The event had aimed to raise $60,000 for St. Baldrick's, but as walk-ons steadily trickled in in what's been the biggest turnout to date, organizers expected that number to reach about $75,000.
Los Angeles Daily News

Pressure grows for revising policies on towing unlicensed drivers' cars
Los Angeles police last week joined a growing list of law enforcement agencies across the state in changing policies for impounding vehicles of unlicensed drivers, a shift prompted by complaints that illegal immigrants were being unfairly targeted at DUI checkpoints. For years, activists and some city officials have charged that police are increasingly punishing illegal immigrants who cannot get driver's licenses by towing and sometimes impounding their cars for 30 days. Once a car is impounded, fees to release the vehicles can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Los Angeles Times

Police: 3,000 plants found at illegal LA pot clinic, 10 freeway shut down for hours
Officers serving a search warrant Saturday uncovered a dangerous and extensive marijuana lab with "thousands upon thousands" of plants in a warehouse south of Downtown Los Angeles, reports said. LAPD Media Relations Officer Norma Eisenman said officers were serving a search warrant for a narcotics suspect at an industrial warehouse on the 1000 block of Santa Fe Avenue around 3 p.m. Saturday when they found the illegal lab.
KTLA

2 'party buses' involved in separate incidents in Hollywood
Two "party buses" were involved in separate incidents over the weekend in Hollywood, sending five people to area hospitals, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Namar Burton, 22, of Murrieta was severely injured when he was run over by a party bus late Saturday night, said Sgt. Murrel Pettway of the LAPD's West Traffic Division. Burton had been a passenger on the bus as it stopped at various nightclubs, Pettway said. About 11:25 p.m., the bus was driving east on McCadden Place and Burton was trying to catch up so he could re-board.
Los Angeles Times

Tough DUI law slow to show results
Eight months after it was enacted, what was supposed to be a tough measure against drunken driving is having little effect in four test counties. The law requires anyone convicted of drunken driving to get an ignition interlock device, commonly known by the Breathalyzer brand name, installed on his or her car for at least five months. As of late February, however, Department of Motor Vehicles data indicate only one out of 10 of those convicted of drunken driving since July has had a device installed. In total, there have been 13,288 people convicted of DUI in the four counties - Sacramento, Los Angeles, Alameda and Tulare - since the law went into effect. Yet, state officials have confirmation of only 1,335 drivers who have had interlock devices placed on their vehicles.
Sacramento Bee

2 Va. deputies fatally shot, suspect killed
A gunman opened fire on sheriff's deputies responding to a robbery call at a rural salvage yard on Sunday, killing two and injuring two others before being killed in a shootout, Virginia State Police said. The two injured Buchanan County deputies were in serious condition, said State Police Sgt. Steve Lowe. At about 2 p.m., deputies were investigating a complaint from the owner of Roger's Service Center in the southwestern Virginia community of Vansant. He said his business was being robbed and he had blocked the suspect's vehicle with his own.
Associated Press

Two N.Y. police officers killed on calls
Two New York police officers were killed less than 12 hours apart over the weekend, one after being pushed over a railing and the other after he was shot by another officer following a confrontation with a knife-wielding man, who was also killed. A New York City officer responding to a domestic violence call was preparing to take a suspect into custody when the man shoved him over a railing, sending him falling 9 feet down a cement stairwell to his death. Hours earlier, a Nassau County police officer was killed in Massapequa Park, a suburb 40 miles east of Manhattan.
Associated Press

Prisons

Brown's plan to shut down youth prisons derailed
Gov. Jerry Brown's grand vision of "bringing government closer to the people" has run into a snag - at least when it comes to the state's youth correctional system. If his plan had gone through, California would have been the first state in the country to abolish its youth prison system. In his budget proposal earlier this year, Brown proposed shutting down the state's last remaining youth correctional facilities, and turning over the 1,200 young people in state institutions - where they are called wards rather than inmates - to counties to handle.
California Watch

Pensions

Health Care

Blue Shield's cumulative rate hikes could reach 86.5%
Higher insurance premiums sought by Blue Shield of California in recent months would drive total increases as high as 86.5% for thousands of individual policyholders, new documents show. The higher cumulative increases, once thought to be as much as 59%, were reported to Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones this week as part of Blue Shield's explanation of its plans to raise rates in May.
Los Angeles Times